A Second Chance
by Chasing the Night
Summary: Reina Williams is a normal girl. If you count being the number one successor of the greatest detective in the world as being "normal" and helping said detective catch one of the greatest mass murderers in history. Then, yeah. She is pretty normal. MelloxOCxNear, MattxOC.
1. Death

Chapter 1: Death

The rain pounded against the earth, the wind howling noisily outside. Tree branches smacked against the windows, and thunder roared in the distance. Lightning flashed through the sky, illuminating a young girl dressed in a white nightgown. Her curls flowed gently down her back, the gown fitting loosely around her body.

She walked out of the kitchen, footsteps making soft pattering sounds. Her eyes darted around nervously. She quickly glanced around the room and, finding no one, she unsheathed the knife. She paused for a moment, looking at her reflection through the dagger, fear and determination reflected in her golden green eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, Anastasia, the girl's little sister, was hiding behind the couch. She peeked from behind the furniture, her eyes instantly widening from what she saw.

"No, Reina!"

Reina spun around, startled by the noise. Anastasia tackled her to the ground, Reina landing painfully against her back. The knife skidded across the wooden surface. Reina quickly shot up off the ground and slammed her head against her sister's. Reina then punched her in the nose causing her to scream in pain.

Anastasia clutched her nose, trying to stop the blood from gushing out. Seeing her momentarily distracted, Reina hastily punched her in the gut, knocking the breath out of her. She then lunged for the knife, quickly plunging it into her own heart.

Blood poured out of the injury, staining her nightgown a dark crimson color. She immediately pulled the knife out and slumped forward, falling to the ground. Anastasia caught her just before she hit the floor and swiftly pulled the girl into her lap. She moved a strand of jet black hair behind the dying girl's ear.

She sluggishly moved her palm to rest on Anastasia's face. "… I'm so sorry, Ana," she whispered. Her breathing was becoming shallow, and she was coughing up blood from her mouth. Rich, dark liquid leaked from the corners of her lips and ran down her chin. "Please forgive me," she murmured, her eyes pleading for the girl to understand.

Her eyes slowly closed shut, her hand dropping from the girl's face. Anastasia wept, salty tears hitting her sister's face and flowing gently down her cheeks. She leaned down and gingerly pressed her lips against her sister's pale cheek. She hugged her sister for several hours, the warmth slowly leaving the dead girl's body.

Sorrow clouded the girl's judgment; she grabbed the knife off of the floor, and quickly slit her own throat, blood spurting out of the wound and raining down on the pristine floor. She collapsed on top of the corpse and died within minutes.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This is a pretty short chapter. I can't tell you why Reina decided to kill herself right now, but you can take a guess. Who knows? Maybe you'll have the right answer. Anyways, all will be revealed in time. Review, please!


	2. A Helping Hand

Chapter 2: A Helping Hand

Two otherworldly beings watched as the lives of two girls tragically came to an end. The woman was sitting down on the floor while the man stood behind her, hands in his pockets.

"What a sad ending," the blond haired being said indifferently. He didn't really care about the girls; it's just like how a person watches a movie. You may think the characters are interesting and stuff, but when the film comes to an end, you don't really give a damn about what would happen to them later on in life. 'Cause in the end, it doesn't really affect you in any way. It's only there for your entertainment.

"We should help them," the white haired woman said determinedly. She was moved to tears; definitely the more compassionate of the two. "Give them a second chance at life," she added, looking up from the window used to see into the Human World.

"I don't know," he replied uncertainly. "What makes you so sure they'll be happier a second time? History can repeat itself, you know," he said skeptically, while crossing his arms.

"I know it can. I just … have a feeling that it'll be different this time," she shrugged. "They died so young. Anastasia was only fourteen and Reina was fifteen. They had their whole lives ahead of them," she reasoned. "Life was incredibly unfair this time. I'm sure they would be happier if they just had another chance. _Maybe_ we should…" she trailed off, looking up at him expectantly with teary, sky blue eyes that shined, a pleading look on her face. She batted her lashes and innocently bit her lip.

"…Alright..." he agreed, giving in, albeit reluctantly, "Are you sure?" he asked, hoping to change her mind.

"I'm positive," she said, a smile plastered on her angelic face.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'll explain who these mystery people are eventually. I'll give you a hint: THEY ARE NOT SHINIGAMI.**  
**


	3. Rebirth

Chapter 3: Rebirth

Nine months later, on February 14th, a baby girl was born in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, England. She had jet black hair, golden green eyes, and skin as pale as snow.

One of the nurses in the room opened the door and called out to Jay Bright, the father of the newborn, "Sir! Your child has been born! It's a girl!"

The man immediately stopped pacing and turned to lock eyes with the woman. He rushed up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Really?!" His voice was full of excitement like a child receiving a gift on Christmas day.

"Y-Yes," the nurse answered, startled.

"This is fantastic!" he exclaimed, letting go of her. Jay ran into the room and shut the door. After quickly composing himself, he calmly walked towards his wife.

"How are you feeling?" Jay asked, wiping the sweat off her brow.

"I'm fine," Clare replied, grinning up at him.

Jay smiled back. "I'm a father," he said dreamily. "This is the most precious gift you could've ever given me, love." He gently brushed his knuckles against her cheek.

Clare grabbed the hand and lovingly placed a soft kiss on his palm. "Hey, I'm curious," she said, moving his hand to rest on her cheek. "Are you going to be one of those overprotective dads who'll try and castrate any guy who comes near their daughter and won't let them date 'till they're in college?"

"Gosh! I hope not!" Jay regarded her with horror. "I remember your dad was like that. It was horrible," he shuddered. "I still think he tried to kill me that time," he said, convinced of his father-in- law's guilt.

"Oh, hush. He only offered you some food."

"That was poisoned!"

"It wasn't poisoned," Clare frowned.

"Yeah it was! I put some in my mouth and then went outside to spit it out," Jay argued, pointing to his mouth. "Then, a huge bird swooped down," he said, waving his arms around to emphasize his point, "and swallowed it up. It choked and died after that."

"Well, then he probably tried to feed you my mom's cooking," Clare replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"See! Your dad _is_ out to –"

"Would you like to hold her?" the nurse interrupted, carrying a small bundle in her arms.

"Would I?!" Jay exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"Would you?" she asked, eyeing him strangely.

"Would I?!" he repeated.

"Would you?" the nurse inquired, getting annoyed.

"Would –"

"Jay," Clare cut him off, rolling her eyes at her husband's childishness, "just hold her."

"Okay," Jay agreed, holding his arms out expectantly.

The nurse passed the small pink bundle to him. "Make sure you support the head," she ordered.

"Alright," he said. Jay gently pulled away the blanket that partially covered her face to see more clearly. "Aww," he cooed, peering down at the little girl. "She's adorable…"

"Really? Let me see," Clare demanded, reaching out for the baby.

"Aww…" Jay whined. "But –"

"Come on."

"Fine," Jay surrendered the girl over to his wife.

Clare gingerly took the girl into her arms and held her securely, staring down at her while gently tapping the baby's nose. The little girl giggled, and grabbed onto the offending finger. Clare smiled and carefully pried the girl's hand off the digit.

"I know what to name you, little one," Clare cooed. She held the small bundle tightly and rubbed her nose affectionately against the baby's, kissing the girl's forehead. "From now on, your name is Reina. Reina Bright." Jay grinned down at her and promptly planted a kiss on their cheeks.

Fourteen months after Reina's birth, on April 30th, another baby girl was born to the same set of parents. The girl had strawberry blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and fair skin.

Reina Bright quickly ran into the room, excited to see her new sibling. She motioned impatiently for her father to pick her up, and he quickly set her down next to her mother. Reina sat there, watching the baby with wide curious eyes for a few moments before gently taking the girl's hand.

"Ana!" she exclaimed, patting the baby's cheek affectionately with her other hand. "Anastasia!"

Clare smiled down at the little girl. "That's a good name Rei! I really like it," she praised the girl.

Reina beamed at her mother, happy to be complimented. She giggled and placed several kisses on her mother's cheek. Clare patted her head affectionately before swiftly turning to face her husband.

"What do you think?" she inquired.

"I think that's a good name," Jay replied.

"Okay," Clare spoke, turning towards the newborn. "Your name is Anastasia Bright," she declared.


	4. Welcome to Wammy's

Chapter 4: Welcome to Wammy's

Reina's POV

"We're here girls," spoke the old man.

He quickly got out of the car and opened the door for us.

"Thank you, Watari," I said.

The man smiled and opened the trunk of the car to grab our suitcases. "Are you two ready to see your new home?" he asked in a polite tone.

We nodded and were quickly led inside the large building. As we walked through the halls, I noticed there weren't that many children. Probably around twenty to thirty at most.

Watari knocked on the door, and the three of us entered the room. A rug lay on top of the wooden floor in front of a large desk. There was a book shelf behind it surrounded by windows on either side. Several files and books lay across the desk beside a lamp. Sitting behind the desk was an old man with white hair and glasses. He looked up from his work when we entered the room. He noticed Watari had two unknown children following closely behind him.

"Hello, Watari," he greeted. "Who are those children behind you?"

Watari gave us a quick smile and stepped to side to give the old man a better view. "Roger, this is Reina," he paused. I gave a quick nod and murmured a polite hello. "And this is Anastasia," he continued after I finished my polite greeting.

"Hello," she mumbled, staring down at her feet like they were the most interesting things in the world.

_'She's usually pretty talkative and cheerful, but I guess it's understandable that she's quiet right now. We just lost our parent's after all,'_ I thought, glancing at her for a moment.

"We should come up with your aliases now," Watari suggested.

"Aliases?" Ana questioned, looking up confusedly.

"Yes. For yours and everyone else's safety, here at Wammy's, every person uses an alias instead of their real name," Roger explained. "So, what would you like to be called?"

_'Let's see…I don't really like the name Ruby. Rebecca is a nice name, but it might be a little too common. Raven is okay, but I don't love it. Rosemary is a nice name. Hmmm…' _

"I got it! I know what I want to be called. Please call me Raisa."

"Alright," agreed Watari and Roger. "And what would you like to be called, my dear?" he asked turning towards Ana.

"Alexis, please," she answered in a quiet voice.

"Alright. You two can go and explore the orphanage. Watari and I will find a room for you and decide which classes to put you in. You may leave your suitcases here," Roger said. "Oh and please refrain from calling each other by your real names while someone is around," he added.

"Okay, Roger. Thank you for doing this," we answered back and quickly left the room.

"Nice kids," Roger said, turning towards Watari. "Better than the other little demons running around this place anyways."


	5. Meeting a Snowman

Chapter 5: Meeting a Snowman

Alexis walked around the orphanage for a while, trying to locate important areas like the bathrooms or the kitchen. She and Raisa had decided to split up and meet later. Alexis took out her camera and started taking pictures of random things like a person's face, interestingly shaped food, animals, or flowers. She would usually take a picture of anything that caught her interest and sketch it out on a piece of paper when she had nothing better to do.

She spotted a playroom and decided to head inside. In the playroom, there was a young boy with white hair and skin to match. He was dressed in white pajamas even though it was clearly day time outside.

_'How strange,'_ she thought, growing curious of the small boy.

She snapped a picture of him and quietly shut the door so as not to disturb him. She then moved across the floor carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible. She stuffed the camera into her pocket and walked a little closer to get a better look at what he was doing.

He was currently piecing together a puzzle that seemed to be entirely white. He fit one piece in its correct spot per second, and if he continued at that speed, it would only take him a few minutes to finish.

Alexis inched a little closer the boy and sat directly in front of him. She pulled her legs up to her chest and watched him.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes wondering why she was staring at him. He knew he was a bit strange looking, what with his pale skin and white hair, but did he really look so different that she felt the need to blatantly stare at him?

He finished the puzzle within minutes, just like Alexis had predicted, and flipped it over, hundreds of pieces littering the floor. He picked up a random piece and started fitting the puzzle together again which continued on for the next three hours.

After sitting on the hard floor for three hours straight, a blonde boy suddenly barged into the room, followed by a redhead and Raisa, her sister.


	6. A Chocoholic and a Video Game Addict

Chapter 6: The "Strange" Girl Meets the Chocoholic and the Video Game Addict

Raisa entered the kitchen, wondering if there were any sweets lying around. She opened up a cupboard and peered inside. She reached into the cupboard and pulled out a package of strawberry pocky. She ripped off the wrapping and popped one in her mouth, snapping the stick in half.

She placed the rest of the package in the pocket of her jeans and closed the cupboard. She then proceeded to walk out of the room, but she didn't even make it two steps through the door. Someone rammed into her causing her to land harshly on her behind. She picked herself up off the ground and immediately locked eyes with a little girl.

_'No wait… I think that's a guy,' _she thought.

She stared at the boy, amused since he looked more girly than some of the female orphans she saw earlier.

_'He could definitely pass for a girl, what with his long blonde hair and thin figure.'_

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped, glaring at her.

Her eyes narrowed and pursed her lips into a thin line. "Gee, I am _so _sorry, miss," she apologized, voice heavily layered with sarcasm.

They glared at each other intensely, trying and failing to intimidate the other into submission. A small chuckle interrupted their heated battle. Their heads quickly snapped towards the source of the noise in unison. A small red head watched them from the corner of his eyes while mashing on the buttons of his DS game console. He wore a loose striped shirt with orange goggles covering his eyes.

"This is like, the third time you've been mistaken for a girl, Mells," the red head said, focusing on the game again.

"Shut up, Matt!" he yelled, turning pink.

"It's the hair," Raisa spoke up, grinning when his face turned red. "And I didn't _really_ mistake him for a girl," she said turning towards Matt. "I just called him that 'cause he pissed me off."

He looked up from his game to stare at her. He paused for a bit before saying, "You're a little strange."

"Me?" she asked incredulously, pointing to herself. "I'm not the one wearing orange goggles with my face stuck to a game console."

"I didn't mean strange in a _bad_ way," Matt said, defending himself. "I just thought that it was weird that you could stand up to Mello and insult him. Most people would probably be too scared of him to say anything."

She rolled her eyes and said matter-of-factly, "It's going to take a lot more than a mean glare to scare me away. So basically, we're stuck together. We might as well be friends!"

"…Matt's right. You _are_ strange. Pretty weird too," Mello said, staring at the girl strangely.

She pouted slightly from being called strange twice in one day, and quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, my name's Raisa. What are your names?"

Mello sighed, but introduced himself anyway, "I'm Mello."

"And I'm Matt, but you already knew that," the red head spoke looking up from his DS again.

"So, what are you doing in the kitchen?" Mello asked.

"Well, _obviously_ I'm here to get something to eat. Why else would I be in the kitchen?"

He frowned and said, "No comment."

"So, do you guys want to meet my sister?" she asked, changing the topic again. "Her name's Alexis and she just turned six last week."

"You have a sister?" Matt questioned, turning the DS off so he could concentrate on the conversation better.

"Yup. So, do you want to meet her?" she repeated again.

Mello and Matt glanced at each other before nodding and answering, "Sure."

"Okay, then we'll have to go look for her 'cause I'm not exactly sure where she is right now."

Matt groaned and grumbled sarcastically, "More work. Yippee…"

_Two hours of searching later…_

"Man! Wammy's is huge!" Raisa exclaimed. "We've been searching for like…" she glanced down at her silver pocket watch. "Two hours."

"Ughhh… I'm too tired," Matt complained. "Go on without me!" he cried, dropping to the floor. He played dead for a few minutes, his tongue sticking out of his mouth and limbs sprawled awkwardly on the floor.

"No! We don't leave a single man behind!" Raisa grabbed Matt by the arm and dragged him down the hall.

"Yeah! Besides, I don't want to have to endure this torture by myself! If I go down, you're going down with me," Mello stated in a firm voice.

_One hour later…_

They arrived at the door of the playroom, the only room they had not searched yet.

"We've searched the whole building! This is the only place she could possibly be in," Matt said, skin flushed from all that "exercising."

"Well let's find out," Mello answered, slightly out of breath from walking around for so long without breaks. His hand reached for the door knob.

"Wait!" Raisa exclaimed.

Mello turned around to glare at her.

"What?" he hissed.

"Why did we wait so long to search the playroom? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to check here first? She is six after all. Most kids would probably be around toys. But instead, we went to the bathrooms, music rooms, classrooms, dorm rooms, and a bunch of other places!" Raisa crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"Good question," Matt said. "It's probably because Near is usually in this room, and he was hoping your sister was somewhere else. He doesn't like being in the same room as him."

"Who's Near?" Raisa asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

"His rival," Matt answered.

"Rival?" she questioned.

"Near is the second smartest person at Wammy's," Mello explained, slightly pissed off that he could never beat him. "I'm third and Matt's fourth."

"He's second? Then, who's first?"

"Beyond Birthday," replied Mello. "Now, let's check to see if your sister is in here." Mello reached for the door knob again. He paused, eyes glaring at her for a moment, silently daring her to stop him. She rolled her eyes and remained quiet. When he heard nothing from her, he quickly turned the knob and pushed the door open, barging into the room.

In the middle of the room sat Alexis and Near, both looking up from the puzzle on the floor to stare at them.


	7. Introductions

Chapter 7: Introductions

Alexis's POV

I looked up from the puzzle to see three people enter the room just as the white haired boy placed the last piece in its correct spot.

_'He's finished that puzzle about fifty times!' _I thought, looking back down at him in amazement._ 'Well, it might have been fifty. I lost count after the eighth time he finished that white puzzle. It gets very repetitive after a while.'_

The new occupants were a blonde boy, a red haired boy, and my sister.

"She's in here!" said the blonde boy.

He looked pretty happy to see me. Which was kind of weird, considering I didn't have a clue as to who _he_ was.

_'Case of mistaken identity?'_ I thought._ 'No, probably not. Rei must have told them about me.'_

"Hey, sis," Raisa greeted me. "This is Mello," she said, pointing to the blonde. "And this is Matt." She pointed to the red haired boy who currently busy playing on his game console.

"Hello, I'm Alexis. The one sitting in front of me is …" I trailed off, realizing that I had forgotten to ask him for his name earlier.

"Near," he answered, flipping the puzzle over to start again.

_'Huh. So he does talk,'_ I thought, eyes widening in surprise. _'I was beginning to think he was mute or something. I wonder why he didn't say anything when I first came into the room.'_

"Now that we've finally found you, we can all play together! Let's go outside," Raisa suggested, grabbing mine and Near's hand.

She dragged the two of us out the door calling over her shoulder, "Come on guys!"

Matt followed us into the hallway, but Mello stayed inside, upset that Near was going too. Raisa dropped our hands and ran back into the playroom, her pigtails almost whipping me in the face. She pulled him out by the arm and grabbed my hand again, leading the five of us outside.

"What do you guys want to play?" she stood in the back of the group, and once we were outside, she blocked the house's entrance to prevent us from escaping.

Matt was still playing on his DS when it was suddenly snatched from his hands.

"Hey!" he yelled, surprised and slightly pissed.

"No playing video games outside," Raisa replied smoothly, pocketing the game console.

"…Fine." He gave a slight pout which quickly turned into a mask of indifference.

"So, what game should we play?" I asked, turning towards Near.

Near twirled his hair for a moment, thinking. After thinking for several seconds, he began to answer but suddenly paused.

"Beyond," he greeted, looking behind me.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Seriously, people. If you guys don't vote on the poll anytime soon, I'm going to have to make the choice myself. Which is bad, since I'm very indecisive. Anyway, tell me your thoughts on the chapter and stuff.


	8. Beyond Birthday

Chapter 8: Beyond Birthday

"Hello, Near, Mello, Matt," Beyond answered back, popping up out of nowhere.

Beyond had large, dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't been sleeping well. He had dark, unruly hair that seemed to have never been brushed before. His skin was a sickly shade of white, which probably meant that he didn't go outside very often.

"What are you doing outside?" Mello inquired.

Beyond ignored the question, purposely pissing Mello off. "Who are these two young girls?" he asked, eyeing the two curiously. Strangely enough, instead of making eye contact with the two of them, he looked way above their heads instead.

_'What is he looking at?' _Raisa wondered, looking up at the sky to see what it was that he could possibly be looking at.

Alexis glanced up too after noticing her sister's strange behavior.

Matt pointed to his right. "This is Alexis." Then, he pointed to the other girl in the group. "And this is Raisa."

The two girls turned their gaze from the sky towards him and said a quick hello, waiting for him to greet them in return.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement instead, and walked back into the house, calling over his shoulder, "See you later."

"…What a strange guy," Alexis said when he was out of sight.

"You said it." Raisa nodded in agreement. "He was looking up at something earlier. I wonder what it was."

"That guy pisses me off." Mello took a chocolate bar from his pocket and snapped it in half.

"Eh? How come?" Raisa asked.

"Simple. It's because he's first," Near answered.

"So, you hate anyone who's better than you?" Alexis asked.

"Yup," Mello replied bluntly, quickly finishing off the chocolate.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

You guys are going to see Beyond more probably sometime in the next few chapters. I just decided to introduce him now.


	9. Becoming First

Chapter 9: Becoming First

Raisa's POV

A door quietly creaked shut, but I paid it no attention. Sleep was more important than finding out who was in my room. The intruder quietly tiptoed towards the bed, careful not to disturb me.

I heard the person inhale deeply before screaming in my ear, "Wake up! We gotta go check the results!" And then he started to shake me awake like a he was about to be murdered by a madman and I was his only hope in keeping the crazy guy away from him.

My eyes immediately snapped open and I shot up from the bed, almost hitting him with the back of my head. I rolled onto my back to see the intruder, but accidentally tumbled off the edge instead. "Aah!" I screamed, falling to the floor.

My back made contact with the ground and pain shout through my head, my back, and my behind. My heart beat rapidly against my ribs, refusing to slow down, and my eyes were wide, alarmed by the scream. My eyes darted around the room trying to find the source. I immediately scowled when I recognized the face of the person disturbing my sleep. "Mello! Don't scream in my ear!" I yelled.

I stuck my hand out to him while giving him a glare that said "You'd better help me up." He rolled his eyes, but grabbed my hand anyways and pulled me up.

"My butt hurts," I complained, muttering softly.

I stretched my arms and legs, hearing some snaps and cracks. I then turned my head sideways towards my nightstand and glanced at the alarm clock, checking the time.

_'Is it really…'_

I stared at it for a moment before rubbing my sleep-crusted eyes and checking the time again.

My eyes widened a bit._ 'It is!' _

"What the hell, Mello? It's six thirty! Roger doesn't post the results until at least eight!" I screamed, turning towards him. "Come back at a decent time!" I threw my pillow at his face and jumped back into bed, hiding under the covers.

"What? No!" Mello yelled.

"Well, too bad! Now get out!" I screamed, pulling the blankets down to give him another glare.

"Fine!" he snapped, storming out of the room.

I managed to get two hours of sleep before I was woken up a second time.

"It's eight thirty! Wake up!" Mello yelled.

I shot up from my bed and head butted the intruder, glaring at him. I get really cranky when I'm woken up at an ungodly hour. A soft groan escaped the boy's lips. Instead of golden blonde hair, vibrant red was the one to greet me. Turns out, I hit the wrong person. I was planning on hitting Mello, but noooo, he was smart enough to use someone else to wake me up. I ended up hitting Matt instead. Damn him.

"It's a decent time, now, get up." Mello crossed his arms, glaring at me.

"Eight thirty is not a decent time," I grumbled, sliding out from underneath the covers. "Leave. I have to get ready."

They left the room, leaving me by myself. I sluggishly walked over to my closet, picking out a red turtleneck sweater and a pair of black jeans. I entered the bathroom, brushing my teeth extra slow to prolong the amount of time I had alone. After slipping my nightgown over my shoulders and dropping it on the floor, I tugged the clothes on. I reached for a brush and began combing it through my messy locks, wincing every time it got caught on one of the knots. I finally finished brushing it and quickly pulled my hair up into two pigtails, wrapping red ribbons securely around it.

I stepped out of the bathroom and walked into the hall; Mello and Matt were waiting outside my bedroom door. "Okay. Let's go," I said, sighing.

I walked through the halls I had become so familiar with in the past nine months, Mello on my right and Matt on my left. Mello was practically bouncing up and down from excitement; he desperately wanted to know if he had beaten Near. Matt tagged along, curious to see my ranking.

Several kids crowded around the board, chatting about the test results. When the three of us arrived, everyone stopped talking to turn and stare at us. Mello ran up to the board, Matt and I only halfway down the hall. Mello scanned through the list and stopped, staring at it in shock.

"What's with the shocked face?" I asked, having not yet seen the results.

Matt arrived next and looked up at the board. "Oh…" he looked at me worriedly.

I finally reached the board and glanced up at the results. _'Oh, shit,' _I thought, freezing up.

_First: Alexis, Raisa _

_Third: Beyond Birthday_

_Fourth: Near_

_Fifth: Mello_

_Sixth: Matt_

Mello immediately turned on me and shouted, "I can't believe you! You surpassed me!" His face turned an angry shade of red.

"Mello… I didn't think this would happen! I didn't mean to be first!" I tried to explain.

"Don't bother explaining. I don't _care_. Don't talk to me ever again," Mello snapped, storming down the hall in a huff.

I stood there, shocked, while watching him walk farther and farther away. I quickly snapped out of it and ran after him, grabbing onto his hand. "Why can't I, Mello? I thought we were friends!" I cried desperately, tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.

Mello's back stiffened, and he slowly turned to face me. He snatched his hand away and glared at me with cold, unforgiving eyes. "I never agreed to be your friend. You were the one who decided that we were," he spoke harshly, knowingly inflicting a wound on my heart. "You _knew_ how much it meant to me to beat Near and become first. Since you're first, you're now an obstacle standing in my way. We are, in _no way_, friends." He turned and walked away again.

"Please… don't leave me," I begged, knees buckling underneath me.

He didn't look back. I watched as he walked further and further away from me until he was finally out of sight.

"M-Mello," I sobbed, salty liquid streaming down my face. "I'm so s-sorry."

Matt looked on sadly and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. "You should get up. We're attracting a crowd."

We were indeed attracting a lot of attention. What started out as eight or nine kids quickly changed to twenty to thirty. Matt helped me stand up and led me to my room. He pulled me onto the bed and we sat there for a while, my head on his lap while he stroked my curls. Tears leaked from my eyes, small hiccups escaping my lips. I cried for hours until I finally ran dry of tears.

"What a sad way to spend a birthday," I said miserably, sniffling a little.

"It'll be okay. Mello didn't mean what he said," Matt said, not entirely convinced of what he was saying either.

"But what if he did?!" I sat up, looking him in the eye. "What if he really meant it?"

Matt refused to answer; instead he turned his gaze towards the window.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Mello can be such a jerk. But they'll probably make up sometime. Who knows?


	10. Life

Chapter 10: Life

Raisa's POV

I walked down the hallway, Near and Alexis by my side. We were walking to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, preferably strawberry pocky, when I saw a flash of gold to my left. I spun around, trying to catch a glimpse of the retreating blonde before he turned the corner.

I sighed, running my fingers through the messy locks. _'I wish he would talk to me. I would even be fine with him yelling at me. I just wish he wouldn't ignore me.'_ I thought bitterly,_ 'It never used to be like this. If I had only scored a little lower, things would be different.' _

"I'm not really hungry anymore," I mumbled. "I'm going back to my room."

I turned and left, hurrying back to my room. I closed the door and jumped down onto the bed. Reaching my hand under the pillow, I pulled out the four year old photograph.

_Flashback_

_ Alexis was grinning from ear to ear, holding up her hand in a peace sign. Matt copied the sign and held it behind Alexis's head, giving her bunny ears. Mello smiled at the two, a chocolate bar in his hands, and Near was playing with Bumblebee, his Transformer action figure. I was standing between Near and Mello, my arms wrapped loosely around their necks. _

_"Say cheese!" Watari quickly took a photo to capture the moment. Unfortunately, the shot was ruined because Near decided it was a good time to have Bumblebee fly around our heads while voicing his thoughts out loud._

_"I don't understand why we have to say the name of a dairy product before having a picture taken," Near said, plopping onto the marble floor. He pulled his knee up to his chest, and set the action figure beside him, twirling a lock of his white hair._

_"I don't either." Mello frowned, crossing his arms. "Why can't we say 'chocolate' instead? Chocolate is much more appetizing than cheese," he argued._

_"Well, I don't know why. 'Cause it's a tradition, I guess," Raisa replied, tapping her finger on her chin, deep in thought._

_"I suppose we could replace 'cheese' with 'chocolate' though," Alexis said._

_"Are you guys all ready?" Watari asked._

_"We're ready," we spoke in unison._

_When we assumed our original position, Watari took the picture. The word 'chocolate' reverberated off the walls causing us all to have a giggling fit._

_"Seriously, Mells? Chocolate?" Matt asked._

_"What's wrong with chocolate? You know it tastes better than cheese."_

_End Flashback_

My finger tips gently ran over Mello's face.

_'We can't be as close as we used to since I don't have as much time as before. It's all because of my job.'_ I rolled over on the bed so that I was facing the wall, clutching the picture to my heart.

_'It's been three years since Alexis and I started working. Four years since we became the second greatest detectives in the world, pushing Eraldo Coil into fourth and Deneuve into fifth. And four years since our friendship fell apart," _I thought sadly.

_'He has avoided me like the plague since then and would always ignore me when I try to talk to him. Although to be fair, I haven't been putting much effort to help the two of us make up. I don't purposely go out of my way to find him, though I still want to be friends again. I'm just scared that he doesn't want to. I'm scared of the rejection.'_ I sighed before rolling back over to put the photo back in its place.

_'L is a great guy, though pretty strange looking. He was the one who helped me become a detective; the work gives me a temporary escape from having to deal with Mello.'_ I got off the bed and walked up to my desk, pulling out a file from one of the drawers.

_'He even lets us work with him on major cases and gives us our own cases to solve. We sometimes have to leave the orphanage for several months, either by ourselves or with L. That gives me even less time with Mello, which is something I am both thankful and depressed about.'_ I scanned through the papers, immediately solving the case. I put the solved case on the left side of my desk and took out the next file.

_'Of course, this isn't just fun and games or a way to avoid Mello; it's also pretty hard work. Since being one of the greatest detectives in the world constantly puts us in danger of being assassinated, Watari and L had to teach us many valuable skills. Watari taught us the art of espionage and how to shoot guns, while L taught us capoeira and how to hack.'_ I finished the case, putting it on top of the other solved one, forming a neat pile.I took out another file and began the same process again.

After five minutes of work, I stopped for a minute to relax. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms and legs._ 'Alexis has been teaching Matt how to hack too. It seems he has a talent for it. I wonder which one of them is the better hacker,'_ I thought, tapping a finger on my chin.

* * *

Mello's POV

I turned the corner, walking towards my room. I shoved the door open, immediately slamming it shut. I slid down it slowly until I was sitting on the floor, my back against the entrance.

_'I shouldn't have run from her, last time or today. I should have stayed and listened to what she had to say. But that was in the past, and now it's too late to undo my mistakes.'_

_Flashback_

_I stood behind the door, listening to the last bits of their conversation._

_"…It'll be okay. Mello didn't mean what he said," Matt said._

_"But what if he did? ...What if he really meant it?" Raisa asked._

_There was silence for a while, neither one of them speaking. Soon after, there were shuffling noises behind the door. Matt opened the door and walked out, softly shutting it behind him. He instantly turned to face me._

_ "You should have handled that differently," Matt reprimanded._

_"…I know."_

_"Instead of screaming at her, you should have listened to what she had to say. She was crying for hours!"_

_"…I know."_

_"Then go apologize!" Matt snapped._

_"…I can't," Mello answered simply._

_"Why not?" Matt asked, exasperated._

_"I don't have the right to look her in the eyes anymore. Not after causing so much pain. You didn't see the look in her eyes when I told her we were never friends."_

_End Flashback_

There was nothing I could say to apologize. I caused her a lot of pain. I can't face her after that.

* * *

Alexis's POV

I sighed, continuing the walk towards the kitchen with Near. We walked in silence, both of us too absorbed in our own thoughts to pay attention to the other.

_'These last four years have been pretty awkward. I wish those two would make up and be friends again, but it doesn't look like that'll happen anytime soon.'_ We arrived at the kitchen, the two of us grabbing some lollipops and chocolate bars from the cupboards before heading back.

_'The only one I have to talk to is Near and Matt, but Near doesn't talk a lot, and I don't know what to say to Matt. Lately, the only time I ever speak with him is to teach him how to hack. And we don't really speak beyond that. Why can't things go back to the way it was four years ago?_' I thought wistfully.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Is my story good or bad? Is it boring? I wish someone would tell me!


	11. Death Threats

Chapter 11: Death Threats

"That girl has got to go…"he murmured, dropping a knife on the picture. The bloodied knife pierced the photograph, through the smiling girl's head.

Beyond Birthday had never confronted Alexis before and had always seemed to be avoiding her. Or at least, that's what Alexis thought. In reality, he was always lurking around in the shadows, watching her.

* * *

Alexis entered the room, noticing something was slightly off. She didn't know for sure, but she could _feel_ it. Call it a sixth sense or whatever you'd like. She knew something was different; someone had been in her room.

Of course, there was nothing visible to prove that someone was there. The door wasn't broken down, the window wasn't in pieces, teddy bear heads weren't ripped off of their bodies, and clothes weren't strewn about. But that didn't stop her from immediately checking the place, trying to find out what was missing. She checked her books, her stacks of pictures, and her clothes, but couldn't find anything gone. She even counted the number of stuffed animals in room, thinking someone had taken one! But nothing had been stolen.

Alexis sighed, sitting down at her desk. _'Maybe I'm just too paranoid,'_ she thought.

Alexis opened the drawer to her left, the one that contained her pencils, intent on starting her homework. Her hand reached into the drawer, feeling around blindly for a pencil. Instead of feeling the smooth texture of a well sharpened pencil, she felt a foreign object against her fingertips.

She lifted the object up to her face to examine it, before placing it on her desk. It was a small box, carefully wrapped in shiny, white paper, with a neat little red bow placed in the middle. Alexis tossed the bow and ripped off the wrapping paper. She lifted the box's cover and shrieked.

"Do you like your present?" a familiar voice asked.

Alexis spun around to look at the intruder. Beyond's arms were crossed, his body leaning casually against the wall.

Outraged, she threw the gift at his face. "You're disgusting!" she cried.

Beyond caught the mutilated animal before it hit him and crushed the body in his hand, snapping its bones with a sickening crunch. He uncurled his long thin fingers around its broken body and apathetically looked at the bloody mess before tilting his hand to let it slide off his palm and onto the floor. Beyond sauntered across the room to stand in front of her; lifting a strand of her strawberry blonde hair and twirling it between his thumb and index finger. He yanked the strand towards him, forcing her head to move closer.

"Resign from your position as L's successor. You know you're not good enough to succeed him," Beyond demanded.

"And _you_ are?" Alexis scoffed.

Beyond raised his hand and slapped her, an angry red print marking her face. A surprised and pained sound escaped her lips. Alexis's hand reached up to gingerly touch her bruised face.

"The only reason you're at the top is because of your sister. You'll never be better than her," he whispered in her ear.

Shivers ran down the girl's back. "And if I refuse to give up?" Alexis asked, determined not to be afraid.

"I'll kill you, just like I killed that bird," Beyond promised, quickly pulling away. The corners of his lips curled up into a hideous smile, and his eyes danced with mirth. "I have no qualms in killing small animals or even children."

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. He was _serious_.

Beyond let go of her hair and calmly walked out of the room like he _didn't_ just threaten to kill her. Alexis stared after him until he finally disappeared behind the door. Her knees shook badly enough for her to collapse under the weight. She sank to her knees and curled up into a ball, arms wrapped protectively around her. She shivered, still remembering how happy he seemed while threatening her and how indifferent he was to killing that poor creature.

After their encounter, Alexis stayed in her room for days, only coming out during meal times and even then she didn't eat much. She was never seen without someone at her side at all times and was constantly looking behind her shoulder, extremely unsettled. To ease her boredom, she took on several difficult cases, always taking more than she could handle.

Her grades began to drop, slowly but surely, until she finally reached the third rank. Her skin became unusually pale, her hair lost its shine, the circles under her eyes were more prominent, and her eyes were a dull blue.

Raisa noticed her sister's strange behavior and grew worried. She sat on Alexis's bed for a while, wondering if she had caught a cold. When Alexis entered the room, Raisa patted the seat next to her, waiting for her to sit down.

"We need to talk," Raisa spoke calmly.

"What about?" Alexis inquired. She lay down on the bed putting her arms underneath her head as a temporary pillow, her eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"You," Raisa stated.

"What _about_ me?" Alexis asked indignantly, frowning.

Raisa paused for a moment. "You've been getting pale and a lot thinner. Are you sick?" she placed her palm on Alexis's forehead, feeling for the temperature.

"…No, I'm not. I'm just a little stressed," Alexis explained, lifting her sister's hand off her head.

"What are you stressed about?" Raisa asked, stroking the girl's hair.

"It's nothing. I guess I've just been taking on too many cases."

"Then cut down on the number of cases you take on. Or, better yet, hand a few over to me."

"No, it's fine. I can handle it," Alexis assured her sister. She sat up on the bed and leaned against the headboard. Alexis paused for a moment before quietly adding "Do you think I can succeed L? Do you think I'm good enough?" She stared down at her hands, refusing to meet her sister's gaze.

Raisa gave her sister a surprised look, not that she could see it. "Of course I think you can succeed him. Why would you ask that?" she asked Alexis, confusion evident in her voice.

Alexis shook her head before giving Raisa a reassuring smile. She was pleased her sister thought she was good enough. "It's nothing. By the way, I'm planning on taking a new case. It requires me to leave England though."

"Where are you going?"

"Los Angeles."

Raisa nodded. "When will you be back?"

"I don't know. Soon, probably."

Maybe if Raisa had known what would happen while Alexis was there, their lives could have been different.


	12. Breaking Down

Chapter 12: Breaking Down

Raisa's POV

Roger stood in front of the window, a shadow casted on his face.

"What's this about, Roger?" Matt asked.

Roger looked behind him, eyes resting on each individual, lingering on me for a moment longer. "A is dead," Roger spoke solemnly, looking out the window.

Time seemed to stand still in that instant. Everyone froze, still processing the information. Near stopped working on his puzzle. Mello's hand froze; his chocolate bar an inch away from his lips. Matt's fingers stopped pressing down on the buttons of his DS, causing him to lose the game. The only sound in the room was the obnoxiously loud game music. Matt quickly turned off the game to stop the music.

"…What?" I asked, shocked. "How? When?" I inquired, my voice raising an octave higher.

"Beyond murdered her a few days ago. She was his last victim before he was caught by the police," Roger explained.

Beyond had left the orphanage a few days after Alexis and was the killer behind the Los Angeles Murder Cases. L had left the orphanage to work on the case. I thought she was safe.

"No…" I whispered, denying his words.

"Raisa… she's dead." Roger placed a comforting hand on my arms.

"NO!" I screamed, breaking into tears. I swatted his hand away. "YOU'RE LYING!"

But I knew he wasn't. Beyond had never liked her that much, but I never thought he hated her so much that he would actually kill her. I just didn't want to admit it. To admit it, would be like accepting it was real.

"Raisa…" Mello fidgeted in the corner, unsure of what to do.

"NO!" I cupped my hands over my ears in a childish manner. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!"

Mello knelt down beside me and wrapped his arms firmly around my body, holding me to his chest. "NO!" I kicked, punched, screamed, and bit, but his hold on me never lessened.

"No…" I whimpered, finally calming down a bit after hours of screaming and crying. "It _can't_ be true." I looked up at Mello. My eyes implored him to tell me it wasn't true, that it was just a joke. Just a cruel way to get back at me for becoming first.

He looked away from me and said quietly, "I'm sorry."

My heart shattered at those soft spoken words.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey, Soul Vrazy! I just wanted to say thanks for reviewing! You were the first reviewer of my whole story. So, thanks. I want to thank MYcookies too. I really love it when you two give me reviews. They make me happy. THANKS GUYS! P.S. the story isn't over yet.


	13. Cold to Warm

Chapter 13: Cold to Warm

"Raisa… please come out." Mello leaned his forehead against the door. He sighed, then knelt down and placed the tray of food on the floor.

He turned around and left, shuffling down the hall, slightly dejected. Raisa stepped out of her room after hearing the footsteps disappear. She lifted the tray off the ground and brought it inside, setting it on her desk. She lifted a forkful of food to her lips, chewing methodically.

_'Completely tasteless.'_ Raisa placed the fork back on her plate and set it carefully outside her door.

She walked back in and lay down on the bed, her arms covering her eyes.

'_I feel_ …_numb. I can't_ feel _anything, no emotions at all. It's like I'm trapped in a block of ice, cold and unfeeling. I need a fire to melt it.'_

Several months had passed and Raisa showed no signs of getting better. She became a recluse, never coming out of her room. Occasionally one of the orphans, particularly Linda, would come to her room to check up on her. Probably making sure she hadn't kill herself yet. Raisa hated them. She didn't want their pity.

Matt and Near would usually visit every day and sit with her for a while. Watari and L would visit too but their visits were always brief since L was so swamped with work. The only one who never seemed to show up was Mello.

* * *

Mello finally snapped and barged into the room, Matt and Near following closely behind. Raisa stared up at them, large cat-like eyes watching the three boys disinterestedly.

"Snap out of it!" Mello yelled.

Raisa continued to stare at them blankly, her eyes a dull golden green color, not the bright, cheerful ones they were used to seeing. Her hair was a rat's nest, the neglected curls tangled helplessly together. Her skin was an unhealthy pallid color from staying in bed all day. She obviously wasn't taking care of herself. Mello's temper flared up; he hated seeing her like this. He didn't like seeing her so … _weak._

Mello pulled his hand back and landed a blow on her left cheek. Matt watched in shock, mouth gaping open. Near's eyes widened slightly, just barely noticeable.

"Mello!" Matt cried in disbelief. "You can't just hit her like that!"

Raisa raised a hand to her stinging cheek, rubbing it gingerly.

_'I can still feel pain,'_ she thought, slightly amazed.

"You're _stronger _than this. I know you are," Mello declared. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "And I _know_ you can get through this."

Little water droplets dripped onto Mello's hand, tears streaking down the girl's face. Mello gently wiped the tears away.

"It's alright to cry." Mello took the girl into his arms and gave her a tight hug, patting her back soothingly. Uncontrollable sobs racked Raisa's thin frame, her hands clutching onto his shirt like a lifeline.


	14. Kira

Chapter 14: Kira

A young man, around seventeen years old sat at his desk, watching the television screen. A name was written in large print across the middle of the page in the notebook.

_'Twenty more seconds...'_

The young man smirked, waiting.

_'10…'_

_'9…'_

_'8…'_

_'7…'_

_'6…'_

_'5…'_

_'4…'_

_'3…'_

_'2…'_

_'1…'_

_'0…'_

Suddenly, the man on the television screen gripped his heart. He slumped forward, his head hitting the desk.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" the young man laughed crazily.

"Unbelievable. So Kira, you can kill people without even being nearby," a voice spoke from the screen.

"What?!" the young man stared at the television screen, shocked.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would've never believed it. Kira, the person you killed was actually a prisoner sentenced to be executed at this time today. Not me."

The young man gritted his teeth, extremely furious. A large "L" abruptly appeared on the screen.

"But I, L, am real! So why don't you kill me? Come on! Do it! What's wrong? Can't do it?" L taunted.

After several minutes of trying to get Kira to murder him, he stopped. "So, there are some people you can't kill after all. Thanks for the hint. I'll tell you something in return. I said this was a worldwide live broadcast, but it's really only being shown in the Kanto area of Japan. I was planning on doing this at other prefectures, but that is unnecessary now. I know you're in the Kanto area."

A strange creature dressed in black with large yellow eyes and blood red irises stood behind the young man. It had abnormally long limbs and grayish skin. It chuckled lightly. "Heh heh, this L guy isn't bad."

"Your first victim was a murderer in Shinjuku. Only the Japanese media reported this incident. That was the only clue I needed to know you're in Japan! That man was only a test for your killings!" L explained. "Kira, it's not far from the day you die."

"So… you think you can send me to the executioner? L…" the young man glared at the screen.

"Kira…" L spoke.

"I will hunt you down and destroy you! I am… Justice!" they both declared.

The strange creature laughed. "Each of you are searching for an opponent whose identity is a mystery and the first one to be found out will die."

_'Humans are so… interesting!'_

"Light!" a voice called, knocking on the door.

"What is it?" Light spun around.

"Can I come in?" the voice asked.

"Sure," Light said, quickly placing the notebook in his drawer.

The person opened the door and stuck their head in. "Mom wants you to come down and eat," the boy's younger sister said.

"Tell her I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." The girl closed the door, walking down the stairs.

"Hyuk hyuk," the creature behind Light laughed.

"What's so funny Ryuk?" Light snapped, spinning around to face the shinigami.

"It's nothing," Ryuk chuckled, an evil smile on his face.

_'I wonder how Light will deal with that creature following his sister around…'_


	15. Beginning the Kira Case

Chapter 15: Beginning the Kira Case

"I am L," the strange man declared.

The man "L" had dark circles under his eyes and extremely pale skin, making his appearance similar to that of a panda. His unruly black hair could not be tamed by a brush, he had an obvious slouch, and his shirt was slightly wrinkled. With his unkempt appearance, it was no surprise that the police officers were a bit reluctant to believe that this man was the famous legend.

"I am Yagami, the chief of police."

"I'm Matsuda."

"Aizawa."

"Mogi."

"Ukita."

L stared at them, slightly disappointed before forming a gun shape with his thumb and index finger.

"_BANG,_" he said, shocking the police officers.

"What the heck?"

"That's not funny!"

"If I was Kira, you would be dead," L explained, dropping his hand. "As you may know, Kira needs a name and face in order to kill his victim. Since we are now the only ones pursuing Kira, please do not recklessly give out your names."

L quickly led them over to the couches. "Please turn off all electronic devices and place them on the table. Also, do not call me L. You must call me Ryuzaki." L crouched down on the plush chair, drawing his knees up to his chest, his toes curled around the edges of the furniture.

"Okay. Sit," he commanded.

"L! Have the Task Force members arrived yet?" a girl poked her head into the room. "Oh, they're already here." The girl walked into the room.

"Everyone, this is Raisa," Ryuzaki said without looking up. He dropped five sugar cubes into his tea and sipped it before cringing at the bitter taste. He immediately put in four more sugar cubes and stirred it. "She will be joining us on the Kira case."

"Hello! I'm Raisa." She smiled and shook their hands.

"L, I mean Ryuzaki, why is a nine year old girl joining us on this case?" Chief Yagami asked, concerned for the girl.

"I'm not nine! I'm twelve!" Raisa exploded. "And for your information, I happen to be the second greatest detective in the world." She huffed, lips forming a small pout.

"…"

"WHAT?!" Matsuda exclaimed. "B-But I thought R was the second greatest!" he stuttered.

Aizawa smacked him behind his head. "Matsuda, you idiot! That girl _is_ R."

"That is correct," Ryuzaki said, reaching for his cake slice.

"I didn't know R was working on this case too! Or that she's this young." Matsuda gazed at her, eyes filled with amazement. "And to think, she's only nine…"

"I'm twelve, you idiot!" Raisa screamed, hitting Matsuda behind the head as well. "I know I'm short, but I'm not _that_ short."

"It wasn't announced to the rest of the world about R's involvement in this case, so of course you wouldn't have known," Ryuzaki said, savoring the cake's palatable flavor.

_'Watari's cakes are always delicious,'_ Ryuzaki thought, cream melting on his tongue.

"Eh? But why keep it a secret?" Ukita asked.

"It's so Kira won't kill me. If he doesn't know I'm involved, he won't hurt me. To him, I'm just a regular detective. If something happens to Ryuzaki though, I'll have to take over his position and go against Kira," Raisa explained.

"Why do you have to take over for Ryuzaki?" Matsuda asked.

"That is classified information." Raisa childishly turned her head away from him, lips still pouting, and arms crossed.

Matsuda's eyes widened, shocked that she hated him so much that she didn't even want to look at him. He was Matsuda for crying out loud! Sure, he was stupid and sometimes annoying, but no one _really_ hated him; the only exception was Aizawa.

Raisa glanced at Matsuda's expression. The corners of her lips twisted up into a smile, eyes light and happy. She giggled and said, "Just joking! I'm his successor." Raisa grinned turning to face Matsuda. "Oh, and I don't hate you if that's what you're thinking."

_'Whoa! She just read my mind!'_ Matsuda thought, eyes widening again.

"No, she can't read you mind, Matsuda," Ryuzaki spoke while eating his fifth slice of cake. "You just happen to display whatever you're feeling on your face."

"Oh." Matsuda sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry," he apologized while smiling bashfully.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yay! I finally reached 10 reviews! Thanks to everyone who reviewed!


	16. Explanation

Chapter 16: Explanation

"Alright, moving on…" Raisa plopped down on the seat next to Ryuzaki.

"On December 14th, 12 FBI agents entered Japan." Ryuzaki took out a sharpie and wrote 12/14 on the table, holding it between his thumb and index finger as though it disgusted him. "December 19th, Kira uses the criminals in prison to test his control over the victims' actions before their deaths."

Ryuzaki wrote down 12/19. He labeled EXPERIMENTS under 12/19 and FBI ENTER JAPAN under 12/14, drawing an arrow connecting the two.

"In other words, Kira noticed the FBI agents sometime during these five days," Raisa explained taking out a strawberry pocky stick. She stuck it in her mouth, sucking away the strawberry before biting it in half.

"In order to eliminate these agents whose identities were unknown to him, Kira needed to test how well he is able to control the victims' actions," she spoke while crunching on the pieces.

"On December 27th, using the results of the experiments, he successfully gathered the names and pictures of the agents and sent the files to them all before killing them so that we don't find out which agent Kira acquired the information form. This also proves that Kira had contact with at least one of the agents." Ryuzaki neatly printed 12/27 on the table, FBI 12 underneath it with the number crossed out.

"Anyways, the bodies of the agents were found throughout the city. Between the 19th and the 27th, there were twenty three other killings. Most of the victims were only suspected of a crime, but some had criminal records. These are starkly different from Kira's regular victims," Raisa continued. She sipped her tea while L drew a larger circle between 12/27 and 12/19 with the number twenty three under the circle.

"Those twenty three he killed mostly served as cover ups. Between his experiments and killing the agents, Kira waited eight days to let the agents investigate more suspects so he wouldn't stand out. In any case, Kira is among the people investigated during this time," Ryuzaki said while scribbling in the middle of the line between 12/14 and 12/19.

"Kira couldn't have known the names and faces of the agents before he could distribute the documents, so one of them must've gotten the documents first. We know the order in which the twelve agents go the documents. They're supposed to be classified but…" Raisa trailed off, looking up at the others.

"This is great! With these, we can start immediately," Matsuda exclaimed.

"We have to find the common points between the twenty three victims and the FBI agents first," Ukita said.

"We can look for clues in two teams, one for the FBI agents and one for the twenty three victims," Aizawa suggested.

"…Any questions?" Ryuzaki asked, dropping the sharpie marker.

Ukita, Aizawa, and Matsuda ignored him; too busy looking at the documents to pay attention to him.

"I have a question. Is showing yourself in front of us a failure for you?" Chief Yagami asked.

"Yes. The meetings and deaths of the twelve agents are my fault. However, we will win in the end. This is the first time R and I have risked our lives to catch a criminal. I want to let everyone here, who is also risking his life, know that… Justice will prevail!" Ryuzaki grinned.

"That's right!"

"Justice will prevail!"

"Let's get him!"

"Yeah! Let's go L… I mean Ryuzaki!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I pretty much just copied down the words from chapter 11. Go read that chapter. They're both the same.


	17. Naomi Misora

Chapter 17: Naomi Misora

"Kira is not among us." Ryuzaki stuck the tip of his thumb in his mouth, gnawing on it gently.

"How do you know if one of us isn't Kira, Ryuzaki?" Chief Yagami asked.

"I've got a plan… it's a test that none of you are aware of."

_BEEP! BEEP!_ _BEEP!_

"Oh, sorry," Ryuzaki said while answering the phone.

_'Telling us to shut off our cell phones, but he…'_ Matsuda thought.

"Gotcha, we're pretty much finished up here. Use your own key to come in." Ryuzaki hit the end button and placed the phone back in his pocket. "Watari is coming," he told the others.

Watari walked in through the door carrying a small case in his hands. He and took off his hat and greeted the officers. Everyone stared at him, surprised that he was actually an old man.

"Ryuzaki, I brought the things you ordered."

"Hand them out."

"This is everyone's new badge," Watari explained, lifting the case's cover for everyone to see.

"New?!" Aizawa exclaimed.

"Your name and position must be anonymous," Watari said while passing them out.

"A fake badge…"

"Kira must know the name and face of the victim in order to kill them, so we must use these badges," Raisa said, blowing gently on her hot tea.

"B-But for a cop to use a fake badge…" Ukita spoke nervously.

"We'll die if Kira knows who we are. We have to use this," Mr. Yagami said.

"When you have to say who you are, use this fake badge," Raisa ordered. "But not in the police station; you might get in trouble."

"Roger," the police spoke in unison.

"Also…" Watari opened another briefcase. "You must all wear this belt."

"Belt?"

"There's a transmitter hidden in the buckle. This way, Ryuzaki and Raisa will know your location at all times. Also… if you press the buckle twice," Watari said while demonstrating it to them. "My cell phone will ring."

"Wow… it feels like we're some special group formed to catch Kira!" Matsuda exclaimed, putting on the belt.

"Matsuda!" Mr. Yagami yelled. "Be serious! This isn't a game," he reprimanded.

"Oh yeah, it would look pretty weird if the main building is empty so have someone stay there to make it look occupied," Ryuzaki requested.

"Understood. Aizawa, please go to headquarters," Mr. Yagami asked.

"Alright," Aizawa agreed, heading out the door.

_Meanwhile…_

_'If I can't figure out her name, I can't kill her. We'll be at the station in less than three minutes. There's no more time! If this goes on…' _Light quickened his pace to catch up.

"Um…"

"Yes?" the woman asked, stopping in her tracks to turn around.

"The truth is, it's impossible to contact the investigators," Light said.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Well, don't you think it's weird that there is nobody at headquarters?"

"Yeah, it's a little strange," she admitted.

"That's because the Kira case investigators are using the 'unknown investigation team' strategy. If we don't use this type of concealment method, there might be more victims like your fiancé," Light explained.

"I understand."

"That's why they said no one was at headquarters. You won't be able to contact them."

"He he, you're such a smooth talker, Light," Ryuk chortled.

_'Shut up, Ryuk! This is a crucial moment. I'm trying to make her reveal her name.'_

"How do you know this?" the woman asked.

"That's because… I guess I'll have to tell you. I am actually a member of the investigation team," Light lied.

"What? You're a member?" she asked, a bit shocked.

"That's right. L has been making little progress lately since many of the investigators quit out of fear of being killed by Kira. Although I'm only a high school student, I've solved many difficult cases before. That's why I can walk in and out of headquarters."

"I see… so talking to you is like talking to L. That's enough then; I've told L everything I know."

_'Damn! I still don't know your name yet,'_ Light cursed inwardly.

"I worked under L to solve a case two years ago in the states. Although we only talked through a computer, I believe there is no case he can't solve. "

"You worked under L?"

"Yeah. I was an FBI agent until three months ago."

_'Finally! Something I can use.'_

"No wonder, the way you handle Kira's case is very professional. I can learn a lot from you," Light complimented.

"I've begun to suspect people from within the Japanese police, but… I believe that L will solve this case. That's why I've come to contact the team."

"I see… but, why would you tell me all these things?" Light asked.

"Because… you give the same feeling as L," she explained.

_'That was… insulting. She just said I'm similar to L!'_

"Let's work on this case together."

"What?"

"Become a member of our team. This way you can speak directly with L. No, you can catch Kira yourself." Light held out his hand.

"You're not just any investigator; you've worked in the FBI. You are more than qualified for this team. The conditions to join are a valid and secure identification, a recommendation from a member already on the team, and L's approval. Fate must want you to be on our team!"

"Ho ho! Amazing Light!" Ryuk complimented. "Females can't resist the lure of fate."

"Sorry, I got too excited," Light apologized while scratching the back of his head.

"That's okay."

"Even though the team doesn't require you to be around every day, it'll probably be difficult for you since you live in the states."

"My fiancé and I were planning on getting married this spring and moving to America afterwards. What am I going to do now?"

"Maybe this is too dangerous for you," Light said.

"No! I'd do anything to catch Kira! I have no regrets." The woman looked Light straight in the eye, "I want to join the team."

"Okay, then can I see some ID?"

"Oh. Um… about that…"

"Something wrong?"

"The name I told you isn't real… sorry."

"Really? That's fine. It just means you're more amazing than I first expected."

"Will my Japanese ID work?" she asked, handing over a small plastic card.

"Sure."

Light took the card in his hands. _'Naomi Misora. What a stupid girl. If she hadn't fallen for this and went straight to the station, Kira would've been found.'_

"When did you start working for the FBI?" Light asked, taking out a piece of the Death Note.

"From September of 2001 until October of 2003," Naomi answered.

Light quickly wrote down Naomi Misora and the details of her death down on the piece of paper. He glanced down at the watch to count the number of seconds left until her death.

"Why do you keep checking your watch?"

"Hmm? Oh, this? That's because…" he paused, waiting a few more seconds. "It's because of Kira," Light smirked.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Naomi asked, taken aback.

The larger hand on the watch hit 1:25. Naomi suddenly turned around, walking away.

"What's wrong?" Light asked.

"I have something to do."

Light took out his cell phone and flipped it open. "My dad called back. Didn't you want to talk to him?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Naomi said, continuing to walk away.

_'Goodbye, Naomi Misora.'_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had a bunch of tests to study for. They are so annoying. Anyway, I'm going to try and take advice from one of my reviewers and make the chapters longer. KEY WORD: TRY. So, don't expect much.


	18. Decisions

Chapter 18

"Ugh, I'm so boooored!" Ukita whined.

_RING! RING! RING!_

_'I'm going crazy just from hearing these damn phones ring all day!'_

_RING! RING! RING!_

_'Why did I have to be the one stuck here?'_

Ukita got up from his desk and walked towards the phone. He quickly unplugged the annoying device as well as several others, leaving only one untouched. He sat back down on his seat, grateful for the lack of noise. He brought a cigarette up to his lips, puffing out a thin stream of smoke.

_RING! RING! RING!_

"Awww…" Ukita groaned, reaching for the handle. "Good afternoon, this is the Vicious Criminal Serial Murders Special Investigation Force," he answered monotonously.

"U-Um… I was wondering if I might be Kira, so I called in…" a voice on the other end spoke.

"Why do you think that?" Ukita asked, taking a drag of the cigarette.

"Well, when I was watching the news, I thought 'This bastard is better off dead' and then he really died," the caller explained.

"Did you ever want the FBI to die?"

"Um… no…"

"Then it's not you."

"How do you know? If you don't arrest me, more people will die!"

"Then turn yourself in to your local police station." Ukita slammed the phone back into its receiver. He reached for the ashtray on his desk and promptly put out his cigarette.

_RING!RING! RING!_

"Good afternoon, this is the Vicious Criminal Serial Murders Special Investigation Force," Ukita said, answering the phone.

"I have some small clues. Is it alright if I told you?"

"Yes, go ahead," Ukita gave his confirmation and pretended to listen. "Yes… ah huh… and then?"

_'Ugh… so boring…'_

_Meanwhile…_

Ryuzaki crouched on the pristine sofa, knees pulled up to his chest, and hands on top of his knees. Sitting next to him on either side was Aizawa and Raisa, both surrounded by video tapes. Raisa was slouching in her seat, arms and legs crossed. Her eyes were slightly closed, still sleepy from being woken up so early.

Aizawa handed Ryuzaki one of the video tapes surrounding them, "These tapes are the recordings of every security camera relevant to the deaths if the FBI agents on December 27th. Their footage captured the heart attacks of Knick Staek in the Ginza Department Store, Raye Penber in Yamanotesen, and…"

_Blah… blah blah… blah blah. _Everything went in through one ear and out the other. Raisa's brain felt like mush; it just didn't want to absorb all this info.

"Show me all the footage of Raye Penber when he entered the gates up until his death," Ryuzaki ordered, thumb at his lips.

"Alright. He entered through the Shinjaku Nishikuchi gates at 3:11 PM. He then boarded the Yamanotesen line at 3:13. And then there's his death…"

_'So… boring. I wonder if this is how Ukita feels right now,' _Raisa thought, eyes beginning to droop. _'When will this be over?'_

"The envelope's gone?!" Ryuzaki exclaimed.

"Huh?" Raisa asked, snapping wide awake.

"Pay attention, Raisa!" Aizawa scolded.

"Sorry," Raisa apologized, tugging on one of her pigtails, "but I don't work very well when I'm tired. Unlike Ryuzaki over there who can survive with three hours of sleep a week, I need at least ten to twelve _a day_ before I can function properly. But no one ever lets me sleep that long," Raisa complained. "It's always '_R! You have to get up you lazy bum! _or _'You have to solve this case! There's a serial killer on the loose!' _or _'There's a criminal stealing candy from children!'_"

"But… serial killers and criminals stealing candy from kids are important! More important than sleep!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"Shut up, Matsuda," Raisa pouted, her pink lips jutting out. She paused for a moment, confused, "…What were we talking about again?"

"As I was saying, at the gates and before entering the train, Penber had an envelope with him," Ryuzaki continued.

"Envelope?" Aizawa asked, squinting a bit, "Oh! You're right! That's amazing! You notice the smallest details."

Raisa snorted, "Well, sure! You don't become the greatest detective in the world out of luck! He's gotta have _some_ skills." Raisa walked over to the fridge and pulled out a giant chocolate cake. "Want a slice, Ryuzaki?" she called over her shoulder.

"Sure," he replied.

Raisa sliced a generous portion of the cake for herself and a smaller slice for Ryuzaki. She walked back to the couch and plopped down on the seat, handing over the smaller slice to Ryuzaki. He stared at the two slices for a moment, eyeing the bigger one, and then looked up at her with his dark eyes.

"Take it or leave it. I am _not_ taking the smaller one. If you want a bigger slice, cut it yourself next time," Raisa ordered, glaring at him.

"But there weren't any envelopes among his articles," Mr. Yagami objected, continuing with the investigation.

"Then something must have happened on the train," Raisa stated, viciously stabbing the blood red strawberry on her cake slice. The juice squirted out, turning an area of the white frosting a light pinkish color.

"Maybe the envelope had the agents' information?" Mr. Yagami suggested.

"Impossible. Penber boarded at 3:13 and received the information after that. He couldn't have received the information before 3:13," Ryuzaki said, pouting at the small slice, "Bring me the footage of Penber's death."

"It looks like he's trying to look towards the train before he died," Raisa observed, munching on the cake.

"Is that important?"

"It'd be interesting is he was looking at Kira himself," Ryuzaki said.

"No way."

"I don't think so either. Kira can kill from far away, so I don't think he would need to be so close to make this happen."

"But maybe he knows we'd think that, so he purposely stayed close to his victim," Raisa suggested.

"Let's say Kira was on the train, and the security cameras couldn't record the person who took the envelope. It's possible that before the incident, he scouted out the locations of all the cameras and their blind spots. After all, he would become a major suspect if he were caught on tape," Ryuzaki said.

"Yeah, you're right," Raisa agreed, nodding her head. "So, Aizawa-san will investigate the eleven other agents and the victims. Yagami-san and Matsuda will investigate Penber's death," she ordered.

"Yes," they said.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Watari flipped his cell phone open and answered the call, "Yes… one moment." The old man placed his hand over the speaker and turned towards him, "Ryuzaki, Ukita-san from headquarters has received an interesting phone call."

"Give Ukita the number to line five and have that person contact me directly," Ryuzaki ordered, turning towards Matsuda, "Matsuda, turn on your cell phone."

"Alright," Matsuda turned it on.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

"Oh!" Matsuda exclaimed, surprised.

Ryuzaki snatched the phone out of his hand and answered the call, "This is Suzuki, information specialist of the Kira Investigation."

"Penber's fiancé?"

"Yes, my daughter is Misora Naomi, fiancé of Raye Penber. They were planning on visiting us, so they came to Japan together."

"Misora Naomi… that sounds familiar," Ryuzaki nodded his head at Watari.

Watari typed swiftly on his laptop looking up her name.

"She was promoted through the FBI quickly. In August of 2002, she arrested the perpetrator of the Los Angeles BB Serial Killings," Watari read out loud.

_'That's right. She worked under me for that case,' _Ryuzaki thought, glancing over at Raisa.

Raisa's hand stilled, her fork an inch from her open mouth. She closed her mouth and glared at the fork for a moment before setting it down on the plate and pushing it away.

_'Still sensitive about that case.'_

"Then Raye died on the 27th, so I called my daughter. She said 'Please let me clear my head. I need to think for a while.'"

_'Think...did she want to go after Kira too? But that's too dangerous.'_

"I called her again on New Year's but her phone was turned off and it's been like that ever since."

"Yagami-san, is it possible to locate phones that are turned off?" Ryuzaki asked ending the phone conversation.

"Of course," he replied.

"Penber and his fiancé came to Japan. A day after he died, Naomi disappears."

"She must have been devastated by Raye's death. Maybe she committed suicide?" Matsuda suggested.

"No, probably not. She has too strong of a will to do that. She must've gone after Kira herself. She was with Penber. Maybe she knows something…" Ryuzaki bit his thumb. "Everyone, please investigate all the people Penber was following ever since Kira began his experiments on December 19th. The list should be small."

"Kira could be among them so we can't reveal ourselves by directly questioning them. Penber was investigating your families. Even though Penber's report said that the families were not suspicious, I still want to make sure. So in every home of the families Penber investigated, please install hidden cameras and electronic bugs," Ryuzaki requested.

"You can't do that!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"This is a breach of privacy rights! If our bosses found out, we'd lose our jobs," Aizawa argued.

"Which is more important: your jobs or human lives?" Raisa asked.

"…"

"Who was Penber investigating?" Mr. Yagami asked.

"From the 19th, Penber was investigating…"

"Sub-chief Kitamura's family and Chief Yagami's family," Ryuzaki answered, "Please install cameras and electronic bugs in these two households."

"But it's illegal!" Matsuda protested.

"If anyone found out, we'd be fired!" Aizawa added.

"Then you must install them as discreetly as possible."

"Ryuzaki, what is the chance that Kira is actually in one of these families?" Mr. Yagami asked, sweating.

"Ten percent. No… more like five percent," he amended.

"Only five percent?"

"I'd usually want at least fifty percent before doing something like this," Aizawa said.

"We don't have a choice. We have no suspects, so even if the odds were one percent, we'd still have to investigate thoroughly," Raisa claimed.

"Don't we have any other choice besides using cameras and bugs?" Matsuda asked desperately.

"Why?" Raisa asked. "If you were really innocent, you wouldn't mind having bugs and cameras in your house. Unless… you have something to hide."

"…"

"I can't accept that my family is a suspect. Please install them," Mr. Yagami said.

"Chief?!"

"Make sure every single angle of the house is monitored. Even the bathroom!" Mr. Yagami requested.

"Of course. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Chief! What are you thinking?!"

"You know what this means don't you?"

"Of course I do! But if we are going to catch Kira, we are going to have to do everything we can!"

"Well then, the Director, Raisa, and I will monitor the Yagami home. The rest of you will work in shifts. One of you will head back to headquarters while another rechecks the Penber footage. The other two will monitor the Kitamura family," Ryuzaki said, kneeling down on the sofa. "We will watch the family for seven days. When the surveillance is finished, inform the families. Make sure no equipment is left behind. Understood?"

"Watari, when will the equipment be ready?" Raisa asked.

"By tomorrow. We can install them as soon as we are positive no one is home," the old man answered.

"Okay, and book two more rooms from a different hotel to serve as monitoring stations. Once we install the equipment, we will move to those immediately."


	19. You are DEAD Meat

Chapter 19: You are DEAD Meat

Raisa stared at the screen, uncomprehending. She blinked once… twice… three times, but she knew her eyes weren't tricking her. She felt cold and numb inside, like she was frozen in a block of ice.

_'What the? It can't be her… can it?'_ she thought, confused for a moment. Her eyes widened as comprehension suddenly dawned on her. _'L … you bastard.'_

Raisa scowled, her eyes cold, teeth gritted, and hands clenched. Her body shook with rage, her hands itching to grab hold of the nearest object and smash it to pieces, which unfortunately for him, was L. The only things stopping her from going over to him and wrapping her hands around his pale little neck were the witnesses in to the room. Knowing she couldn't hurt him at the moment, she settled for the next best thing. She locked her eyes on to his, giving him _the look_. No, not _that_ one. It was the one where her golden orbs were pretty much screaming "You are DEAD meat!" It was a promise to L that he would suffer. Of course, her silent threat wasn't enough to stop her from causing a scene.

"Ryuzaki, who is she?" she asked in a hard voice.

"Who is it you are speaking of, Raisa?" Ryuzaki asked, gnawing on his thumb.

Raisa's hands slammed down on the table, startling the rest of the Task Force. The sudden movement had knocked over L's extremely sweet cup of coffee. "Don't fucking joke with me Ryuzaki! You know who I'm – " she quickly cut off midsentence.

She closed her eyes, emptied her face of emotion, and took in a few deep breaths. Her face swiftly turned from one of anger and resentment to that of joy and happiness. It was like she had changed masks. Her eyes shone brightly and her lips twisted up into a pleasant smile.

"Ryuzaki," she said sweetly. "I think we both know who I'm talking about. What I want to know is, how is she here? You told me she was –" she stopped, looking around the room.

All the police officers had stopped working and were currently staring at them, wondering what the problem was. Her lips pursed into a thin line.

She leaned forward and hissed into his ear, "We'll talk about this later." Her tone left no room for discussion.

Raisa plopped back down in her seat, silently fuming. L _knew _how much she hated secrets being kept from her especially if they were important. It just seriously ticked her off. There were only two things she had difficulty forgiving. One of them is being lied to. The other is having a secret kept from her. So far, L has managed to do both _at the same time_. Trust the world's greatest genius to be the first to piss her off so much.

Time moved by extremely slow. Raisa kept glancing up at the clock, waiting for the little hand to hit the number nine. After waiting for several hours, the last Task Force member finally left for the day. L immediately shot up out of his chair to escape to his room. Now that there weren't any witnesses around, he was in a dangerous situation. He knew it wasn't safe to be in the same room with an angry girl, _especially_ if the girl was angry at _him_. It would only be five times worse since the girl was _Raisa_. Of course, L knew she wouldn't murder him, but that wouldn't stop her from inflicting bodily harm on him_._

Raisa jumped off of the couch and slammed him into the wall. She placed her hands on either side of his head, trapping him. Her eyes were blazing and she was practically baring her teeth like a wild animal.

"I can't believe you lied to me," she cried in disbelief. "Why?" she demanded. "Why didn't you to tell me she was alive?! I have a right to know!"

L looked away, eyes reflecting his guilt. "…I'm sorry. I –"

"You're _sorry_?" Raisa screeched, voice raising an octave. "L! That's only like _two_ _fucking words._ Did you reallly think if you just said '_I'm sorry_' everything would be _okay_? _No one _is that forgiving, L! '_I'm sorry'_ _doesn't cut it,_" she seethed. "Maybe I should just kill you," she threatened, her hand inching towards his throat.

"I don't think the world would appreciate you killing the world's greatest detective," Ryuzaki said.

"Yeah, well I don't think the world will appreciate some guy who lies to a little girl about her sister being dead as a joke," she countered.

Ryuzaki stiffened. "I didn't lie for the fun of it," he denied, eyes holding a bit of anger.

"Doesn't seem like it," Raisa scoffed.

"Alexis wasn't safe! Beyond would have killed her!" Ryuzaki snapped.

"That's your excuse? _Pathetic_," Raisa spat. "You should have told me instead of keeping me in the dark." She pushed off the wall and turned to move away from him. Ryuzaki's hand shot out and gripped her arm, preventing her from leaving. He spun her around and gripped the girl by her shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"…Beyond almost succeeded in murdering her. By the time we had arrested him, she had received some fatal wounds and was also drugged. We pronounced her dead several hours later so Beyond wouldn't go after her. If there was no chance he could escape, we would have told the truth. Unfortunately, Beyond is a genius. He could always find some way to get out. We lied on the off chance he could break into Wammy's and finish the job. This is why we never had her come back. This is _why_ we told you she died. Better to be upset over a loss, than to be longing for someone you can never meet again."

Raisa's eyes softened a little. She shook her head and sighed. "…I can't say I forgive you, but I understand why you did it." She looked up into his eyes, watering a bit. "Will you let me see her?" she asked, voice cracking.

At that moment, she looked incredibly fragile almost like a porcelain doll. She trembled slightly, her petite frame racked with sobs. One wrong move could completely break her. She had suffered through too much, too quickly. The least he could do was not add to her troubles.

"Yes, I promise," Ryuzaki swore, pulling her into a soft embrace.

Anastasia slowly opened her eyes, a loud noise disturbing her pleasant dream. She pulled her hand up to her face and gently rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She was sitting in chair with a blanket wrapped loosely around her, a pillow behind her head.

She gave the room a cursory glance and noticed several things. One, sitting right next to her was a fat guy wearing headphones and snoring quite loudly. Alexis frowned; she had probably been woken up by those obnoxious sounds. Two, everyone was sitting in rows with TV's in the back of the seat in front of them. And three, there were stewardesses pushing around carts and giving out drinks.

With this bit of information, she deduced she was most likely on a plane. But to where? Alexis tried to recall her memories from before she got on the plane, but the last thing she remembered was being in a hospital, slowly bleeding to death.

_Flashback_

_She could smell the blood; could feel it seeping out of the wounds inflicted upon her, staining her clothes a dark red. She didn't know the extent of her injuries, but hell, she might not even survive because it was probably real bad. He was not merciful enough to give her a quick and painless death. No, he was a sadistic bastard who enjoyed watching her suffer. Every few minutes, she could hear soft gasps and whimpers filling up the silent room. They were most likely coming from her. _

_Her body was wracked with pain, tears leaking from her eyes and teeth gritted. She wouldn't scream. No, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she was hurting inside. She was too full of pride to give in._

_"Scream for me, Anastasia," he whispered in her ear, a playful glint in his eyes. He smiled as his knife carved a long swirl across her chest, blood oozing from the fresh wound. Alexis bit her lip, trying to keep silent while he traced patterns on her smooth skin with the weapon._

_"Just kill me now," she forced out of her stiff lips._

_Beyond gave her a crazy smile. He grabbed a fistful of her strawberry blonde hair, now a dark red from all the blood, and yanked her head up to his face. "I don't want to," Beyond spoke, a mad glint in his eyes. "You're too much fun to give up."_

_Alexis shivered, a little frightened of him. Suddenly, a squad of officers barged into the room, pointing their guns at him. Right at that moment, the pain became too much for her to handle, so she blacked out._

* * *

_"Can you save her?" a familiar voice asked. It was a voice she had heard many times before, a kind voice. One she held the utmost respect for, but Alexis just couldn't remember who it belonged to._

_"We probably can, but we're not entirely sure. Her wounds are critical," a different voice said. She didn't know anyone with this voice, but it was definitely male._

_"Do everything you can to help. Money is not an issue," the first voice stated._

_"Alright, we'll do our best. She needs to get to the operating room now," the third voice said._

_They quickly wheeled her into a large room and set her down on the operating table. A bright light shone in her eyes, blinding her. She squinted, trying to find out who was shining a light in her face. After a minute of trying to clearly see the faces in front of her, she gave up, realizing it was impossible. Instead, she closed her eyes, letting the darkness envelope her. _

_End Flashback_

A bright light had blinded her, preventing her from seeing faces clearly. All she knew was that she was tortured, saved, and most likely taken to a hospital. This didn't tell her _why _she was here or _how_ she even got here which seriously pissed her off.

One of the stewardesses noticed she was awake and quickly walked over to her. A fake smile was plastered on the woman's face, her visage caked with makeup. She handed Alexis a piece of neatly folded paper with her alias on it and promptly walked away. Alexis opened up the note and scanned the contents. She froze, rereading each sentence carefully.

_Dear Alexis,_

_By the time you read this, you will already be on a plane to Japan. It has come to my attention that Beyond Birthday has tried to kill you during your stay in Los Angeles. It is clear that you are not only no longer safe staying at Wammy's, but also you cannot handle the pressures of succeeding "L." Therefore, I have decided you will live elsewhere and be taken out of the succession line. You have been adopted by the Yagami family and will live with them for the rest of your life. Live life the way you choose from now on. I strongly advise not going back to the orphanage. I have already told your sister and the others that you have died. Please forget about us._

_L_

Tears began to roll down her cheeks, hitting the letters, and smudging the ink. She no longer had the pressures of succeeding L weighing down on her shoulders. Beyond couldn't hurt her anymore. She could live a new life. But at what cost?


	20. Crush

Chapter 20: Crush

Raisa sighed; grateful the week was finally over. She had been feeling extremely bored while watching the Yagami family. They were mostly focusing on watching Light Yagami the entire week, not even sparing a glance at his mother and Alexis. Almost all the cameras were directly on him; it was almost as if he was a famous movie star where everything automatically became focused on him. All the Task Force members were now sitting on the couch, discussing their next course of action.

Raisa turned her attention towards the window, not wanting to waste her time watching some guy act completely innocent. A small smile graced her lips as she watched the little snowflakes fall to the ground, covering the grass with a thin white blanket. She liked the snow because it was so pure and seemed to enhance the beauty of those around it, making them more dazzling than before.

Raisa desperately wanted to go outside, to feel the snow against her palms and feel the icy air blow into her face. She wanted to make snow angels on the ground and throw snowballs at passersby, but since she couldn't, she supposed she would have to make do with just watching from the glass window. While the little flakes fell, her mind began to wander to a recent event.

_Flashback_

_"You're really leaving?" _

_Raisa glanced behind her shoulder, giving her visitor a small smile. _

_"Hey, Matt," she greeted._

_"You're really leaving?" Matt repeated._

_Raisa's smile faltered a bit. She dropped her gaze and resumed packing her clothes. "… I have to go," she replied in soft voice. _

_"No, you don't." Matt crossed the room and wrapped his hand around her wrist, stopping her movements. "You can just let L handle this case," he argued._

_"As his successor, this will be a great chance to practice my deductive skills and improve myself. Plus, if I go with him, we will have a greater chance of defeating Kira. Two brilliant minds are better than one," Raisa calmly explained, still not looking at him._

_"But Kira is dangerous! He can kill by knowing a person's name and face! You might…" he trailed off._

_"Die? ... I know. I'm fully aware of the consequences of my choice," she spoke, looking him straight in the eye. "Thousands of people are dying! Are you telling me to sit here and do nothing?" Raisa asked incredulously, fixing a stern glare on him._

_"No, that's not what I'm saying," he denied, staring at the ground._

_Raisa softened her gaze and reached over to squeeze his hand reassuringly. "You don't have to worry about me. I just have to make sure Kira doesn't find out my name. L has to deal with the exact same problem, you know. Are you going to tell him come back to the orphanage?" _

_Matt didn't answer. Instead, he looked up into her eyes, silently pleading for her to stay. A soft sigh escaped her lips. _

_'Of course he's worried,' Raisa thought. 'We don't even know how Kira kills.' _

_Raisa untied the white ribbons from her ink black hair, her curls flowing gently down her back. She carefully wrapped a ribbon around his wrist. _

_"I want you to hold onto this while I'm gone. You can return it to me when I come back." She wrapped the other around her own wrist. "Until then, this will be a promise for me to return. I have to come back and reclaim it someday, right?" she gave him a small smile and turned to leave._

_"Wait!" Matt cried, grabbing onto Raisa's arm to prevent her from leaving. "You'll definitely come back… right?" he asked hesitantly. _

_Raisa had been trying to avoid saying she would be back alive, but it looked like she couldn't avoid it any longer. After all, the chances were slim. But, since he didn't specify whether she would be dead or alive when coming back, she figured it would be okay to say yes. "I will," she said. _

_"Promise?" he asked._

_"I promise."_

_Matt nodded, still unhappy, but let go of her arm. Raisa smiled, caressing his cheek. With the other hand, she brushed his bangs out of his orange tinted goggles. She leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on the smooth skin and walked to the door. Raisa paused at the exit and looked behind her shoulder, knowing this might be the last time she would ever see him again. _

_Matt stood there in the middle of the room, silently pleading for her to stay. He looked at her like a kicked puppy would. Raisa's heart ached slightly at the pitiful sight, the corners of her mouth turning downwards. Unknowingly, her feet carried her across the few feet separating them to stand in front of him. She placed both hands on his shoulders to help her keep her balance and stood up on her tiptoes. She leaned forward, her eyes closed, lightly brushing her lips against his. _

_The kiss was soft and sweet, reflecting how innocent the girl was in matters of love. After kissing him for a few seconds, her eyes snapped open. Raisa immediately realized what she was doing and pulled away, smacking her hands over her mouth and looking everywhere but him. A blush as bright as Matt's hair stained her pale cheeks. She quickly stuttered out an apology while avoiding eye contact and ran out of the room, leaving behind a stunned Matt. _

_End Flashback_

She didn't know what possessed her to do that. Perhaps it was just a spur of the moment decision.

_'Or, maybe you just happen to really like that person,' _a voice in her head suggested.

Raisa blushed crimson before thinking, _'That's crazy! Matt's only a friend! Nothing more and nothing less.'_

_'I wouldn't be too sure about that,'_ the voice taunted. _'Besides, who said I was talking about Matt?'_

_'…Shut up. Anyways, if I did like Matt and that's a big IF, then I guess it wouldn't be so surprising. He comforted me when Mello was upset with me and he's been a good friend all the other times. '_

_'So, you do like him!'_

_'No, I don't! I mean I do! But I – Ugh! I mean – Um. Oh, whatever,'_ she thought, pouting. _'I don't have to prove anything to you.'_

"Raisa, pay attention," Ryuzaki said, interrupting the silent argument between herself and her inner self. "We're discussing what we are going to do now."

"Sorry, Ryuzaki. What were you saying?" Raisa asked.

"We're going to remove the cameras and microphones from both households since there were no suspicious activity on the tapes."

"Eh?" she asked, surprised. "But why? It could just mean that Kira knew there were cameras, so he started being more careful."

"I thought so too," Ryuzaki agreed. He glanced at Raisa out of the corner of his eye, noticing the blush on her face. "Why are you blushing?" he asked curiously, putting his thumb between his lips.

"I was just thinking about…" Raisa trailed off, trying to come up with an answer, "how handsome Light-kun is! Yeah! That's what I was thinking about!"

"Alright…" Ryuzaki said while raising an eyebrow, unconvinced but deciding not to press for answers. It wasn't like he absolutely had to know or else he'd die.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hello, people of Earth! I have a quick question for you. Do you think the story is going too fast or something?


	21. Disapointment and Strange Surprises

Chapter 21: Disapointment and Strange Surprises

Raisa walked next to Light, watching his face carefully while waiting for Ryuzaki to reveal himself. She stared into his eyes, trying to decipher the emotions swimming in his chocolate colored orbs. She knew the emotions in his eyes were true no matter what he showed on his face. After all, the eyes can't lie.

Ryuzaki opened his mouth and leaned in close to Light's ear. "I am L."

Light froze, shocked by Ryuzaki's claim. He quickly schooled his features to a calm mask. "Really?" he asked, surprised, turning around to face Ryuzaki. "In that case, you have my utmost respect," Light said, shaking his hand.

"I should introduce myself properly too," Raisa butted in, drawing Light's attention away from Ryuzaki. "I'm R." Light paused again, slightly nervous. "Anyway, we told you this because we want you to join the Kira case."

"Thanks. I'll think about it."

_'With this, even if Light-kun is Kira, he won't be able to kill us.'_

* * *

"What kind of cake would you like?" It was painfully obvious the waitress was talking to Raisa and not Ryuzaki. His strange appearance always put people off, which was why it was usually Watari's and Raisa's job to buy the cake.

"Two strawberry shortcakes please," Raisa replied pleasantly.

The waitress wrapped up the slices and handed them to Raisa who immediately passed them to Ryuzaki. He quickly walked to the nearest available seat to devour his treat. Raisa took out her wallet and handed the woman the money before following Ryuzaki.

"Hey, Ryuzaki?" Raisa asked, sitting down.

Ryuzaki looked up from his cake. "Yes?"

"When will Alexis come here?" Raisa asked, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Soon."

"Okay!" Raisa gazed out the window excitedly. Any minute now, her sister would be walking through those doors to see her. Raisa shifted her eyes towards Ryuzaki when he suddenly stood up. "Where're you going, Ryuzaki?"

He slouched and walked out the door. "Work. Come back after you see her."

"I will," Raisa assured, watching him leave.

* * *

"Alexis," Raisa said, jumping up to greet her. She pulled her sister into her embrace and murmured, "I've missed you."

Alexis hesitated for a moment before hugging her back. "I've missed you too, sis."

Raisa pulled away, holding the girl at arm's length. A smile broke out on her face, and Alexis shyly returned it with a half smile of her own. Raisa gazed at her warmly, her golden green eyes shining. Ryuzaki told me what happened. He said you weren't supposed to meet me because Beyond could break out of prison and hunt you down. But he's dead now! You can come home."

Alexis hesitated again before shaking her head and turning her gaze towards her feet. "I can't…" she said. Her voice was soft and full of regret.

Raisa cocked her head to the side, obviously confused. She had missed her and Alexis had missed her back, so what was the problem? There shouldn't be anything stopping her from coming back. "What do you mean?"

Alexis looked up into her eyes. "I can't go back to Wammy's," she said firmly.

Raisa stared at her wide-eyed. "Why not?"

"I don't want to leave them. I don't want to leave my new family."

"But… _I'm_ your family too. I'm your _sister_," Raisa reasoned, slightly desperate. "Don't you want to see Mello, Near, and Matt again? They've missed you."

"And I've missed them too." Alexis rubbed her arm nervously, eyes darting around.

"The Yagamis are always going to be in Japan, but I won't always be in England. I'll be traveling to new places and solving cases. You won't get to see me unless you come _with_ me. But, you can always visit them." Raisa reached her hand out to grab Alexis's arm. "Come back to me." Her voice was soft and pleading.

When Alexis shrank away, she stopped her advances. Raisa let her hand hover in the air for a moment before letting it drop to her side. Alexis tentatively raised her gaze up to her sister's face. She searched the golden cat like eyes, seeing multiple emotions swirling around. Sadness, anger, disbelief, and pain reflected from the orbs making her feel uncomfortable. Alexis fidgeted under her sister's intense gaze, dropping her eyes to her feet.

"…I see." Raisa let out a disappointed sigh, heartbroken. "Would you at least join the case?" she asked, hopeful.

"…Do you have a suspect?"Alexis asked carefully.

"We do," Raisa replied cautiously. "But we're not entirely sure it's him."

"Who is it?" Raisa opened her mouth to reply but quickly shut it, pursing her lips. She silently debated whether to tell the truth or to dance around the subject.

"…It's probably not him though. There's only a one percent chance it's him," she lied smoothly.

"Who is it?" Alexis repeated, insistent.

Raisa hesitated before finally relenting, heaving out a soft sigh. "It's Light Yagami," she answered reluctantly.

"I can't then," Alexis replied, not stopping to think it over.

"Why not?" Raisa asked harshly, unsurprised, but pissed all the same.

"Because he's my brother!" Alexis snapped, rage flickering through her blue eyes. "I can't convict him!"

"That's never stopped you before!" Raisa argued. "A criminal's a criminal! It doesn't matter who it is!" she ranted, arms flailing wildly. She stopped, realizing people were beginning to stare. She lowered her voice and whispered harshly, "You're a detective! It's your job to –"

"I'm not a detective anymore, and I won't do as you say!" Alexis whispered back. "You can't control me!"

Hurt flashed across Raisa's face but was gone just as fast leaving behind a blank expression. "Alright," she said coldly, turning her back on Alexis. "Do what you want. But let me ask you this: Where do your loyalties lie, Alexis? With me and Ryuzaki or with Kira?" She walked out of the shop and slammed the door just as a tear ran down her cheek. Raisa ran down the streets, twisting and turning until she arrived at the hotel. She ran up the stairs until her legs finally gave out. Leaning against the wall, she slowly slid down it until her butt hit the cold stairs and pulled her legs to her chest. "Damn," she whispered, hands covering her face. She let a few more tears escape before gently rubbing them away with her sleeve. A shaky laugh slipped past her lips. "Crying is no good. Laughter is what makes the world go around." Laughter sounded throughout the staircase but could easily be mistaken for sobs.

* * *

"How did it go?"

"Fan_tastic,_" Raisa spat sarcastically, slamming the door.

Ryuzaki frowned, placing his thumb on his lips. "I thought you would've been happy to see her again," he said. _'Women are so moody and unpredictable. One minute they're screaming at you and crying because they didn't get what they wanted and the next they're acting all angry after getting it.' _

"Gee, I'm sooo sorry," Raisa seethed. "I'll try to seem more "happy" and stuff." She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Thanks so much, Ryuzaki! Today was the best day ever!" she gushed. Her voice was higher in pitch, light, and friendly. "I just had the_ best_ time trying to convince my little sister to come home, screaming at her when that didn't work, and crying to myself after running out the door." She paused, letting her voice drop back to its normal tone. "Was that "happy" enough for you Ryuzaki?"

Ryuzaki got out a dictionary and skimmed through it, looking for something.

"Oh my gosh. The great L has a _dictionary_," Raisa said in mock surprise. "I thought he knew all the words in _existence_."

Ryuzaki opened his mouth to reply, paused, reread whatever he was reading, and then said, very out of character like, "What crawled up _your_ ass and died?"

"A squirrel," Raisa replied sarcastically. "You know how much those critters _love_ climbing." She sighed and plopped down on the seat next to Ryuzaki. She crossed her arms and legs while raising an eyebrow at him. "Since when did _you_ use those types of words? I thought everything that came out of your mouth was supposed to be intelligent sounding."

Ryuzaki held the book between his thumb and index finger and dropped it into her lap. Raisa picked it up and looked at the cover. On it was an old man talking with some kids. The book was called "How to Communicate with and Understand Teens". Raisa raised an eyebrow at this and flipped through it. Words and phrases covered each page followed by its definitions and how to use it in a sentence. It was quite useful.

"Here." Raisa gave the book back to him. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Since now," Ryuzaki answered. He added, "If you had looked around the room, you would have noticed all the books surrounding me and investigated them. Really, I'm surprised you hadn't."

Raisa sniffed. "I had a lot on my mind," she defended herself.

"So," Ryuzaki said conversationally, "you fought with you sister." He carefully watched Raisa's face, looking for any signs of change.

A blank expression appeared on her face, hiding everything, but what her face hid, her eyes gave away. After all, the eyes can't lie. Her eyes couldn't mask the hurt and sadness she was feeling. A person could practice keeping their face blank, but they wouldn't be able empty their eyes of emotions no matter how hard they tried.

"Perhaps we should get Watari to discuss this with you," he suggested.

"…Alright."

"Watari," Ryuzaki called out, "Raisa wishes to discuss something with you." He paused and then added as an afterthought, "And bring some cake with you!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Yo! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. But aren't you happy? I updated sometime in December after promising to. So good? Bad? Is Raisa a mary sue? Review, please! Oh, and check out my other story Heartless. It's a Naruto fanfic.


	22. Regret

Chapter 22: Regret

Raisa dragged her feet as she walked behind Ryuzaki and Light to the tennis court. She was really beginning to regret saying all those things to Alexis when it was the first time seeing each other in so long. It was supposed to be a happy occasion but she ruined it. She watched as Ryuzaki and Light took their places on the court and began the game.

_Flashback_

_"What seems to be the problem, Raisa?" Watari asked, bringing in a cartload of sweets. On it was Ryuzaki's cake, Raisa's pocky, and some tea. Watari passed out the drinks and snacks before sitting down in a seat._

_Raisa watched Ryuzaki pluck five sugar cubes from the bowl before dropping it into his tea and stirring it for a minute. He took a sip and cringed at the bitter taste, dropping a few more in. "I had an argument with Alexis," she began._

_Watari looked at her, sympathy in his eyes. "I see."_

_"What should I do?" Raisa asked sadly._

_"Well," Watari said, thinking about it. "What was your argument about?"_

_"I wanted her to come home, but she said no."_

_"Did she say why?"_

_"It was because she didn't want to leave the Yagamis. She said they were her family now, but I'm her family too!" she replied stubbornly. Raisa snapped her pocky sticks in half but didn't put the pieces in her mouth. _

_Watari watched the girl, concerned with her behavior. It was very surprising considering the fact that she was as obsessed with pocky as Mello was with chocolate and L with cake. 'She must be quite upset.' _

_"What else did you say?" he voiced aloud._

_"I realized I wouldn't be able to convince her, so I asked her to work on the Kira case instead," Raisa said, looking guilty._

_"And what did she do?"_

_"She said no, so I yelled at her."_

_"I see," Watari said with a nod of his head. His gaze turned serious as he asked, "How do you feel now? Satisfied? Angry?"_

_Raisa resisted the urge to yell at the old man for acting like a stupid therapist. She knew he was only doing this because he cared and was only trying to help, but that didn't lessen her anger. "I feel upset and disappointed because she refused to come home and angry because it feels like she doesn't even want to be near me." She scowled, but smoothed out just as fast as it had appeared. "But I also feel guilty because I reacted badly even though it was the first time seeing her in a while. I _should've_ understood the situation she was in. I shouldn't have tried to tear her away from her new family and shouldn't have expected her to turn on one of them just because they were a Kira suspect."_

_Watari nodded again and suggested, "You should apologize, Raisa."_

_"Yeah," Raisa agreed, nodding, "I'll do that Watari. Thanks for listening."_

_Watari smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Anytime, Raisa."_

_End Flashback_

She sighed, depressed. _'I said I would apologize but how? I doubt she even wants to look at me now.'_ Raisa looked up and recoiled at the sight. A huge crowd had surrounded the court, and she hadn't even noticed.

She saw a man with his face pressed up against the fence and gave him a weird look. He muttered, "They've got the skills to become professionals and they entered Toudai with top marks. It's like they're _destined_ to be the property of the tennis club."

Raisa stared at him, wide-eyed. _'Okay, that was weird…'_

Raisa watched the game for a few minutes, eyes darting back and forth each time the ball was hit. She never really liked tennis, but the match was pretty exciting. L, the world famous detective, actually found someone he was on par with in terms of intelligence and sports. She was very curious to know who would win the game.

Light hit the ball with a powerful stroke of his arm, sending it flying across the court. Ryuzaki lunged but was an inch short from hitting the ball. It hit the fence and the referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the game. He lost.

Raisa stared at the two uneasily, her brows furrowing. _'I feel like this is a bad omen…'_ She quickly shook the bad feeling away. _'It's most likely nothing,' _she decided.

* * *

Hi, everyone! Thanks for sticking by me and reading even though I haven't been updating this story a lot. I was busy studying for midterms and updating my newest story, Heartless. Hopefully, when I'll my tests are over, I'll be able to write more. Review, please!


	23. A Reason

Chapter 23: A Reason

Ana sighed, clearly upset. _'How did this happen?' _She walked out the door of the sweets shop glumly and thought, '_All I wanted was to protect her.'_

"Hey, Ana?" the blonde haired man called, grabbing her attention. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, Haku," she muttered, voice soft so no one could hear her. "Just sad is all."

"Hn. Hey, why'd you do that?" Haku asked curiously, drifting next to her.

"If I had agreed to leave with Raisa or join the Kira case, our lives would've been in danger," Ana whispered, refusing to look at him.

Haku cocked his head to the side. "How?"

She ignored him, letting her feet carry her to a secluded area. When she deemed the place safe, Ana spun around and spoke, "I know Light, and I noticed when he started changing, locking himself up in his room. Plus there's Ryuk." She stared at Haku intensely, serious. "I know he's Kira without a doubt. But it's because I know that that I can't leave him."

"Says who?" Haku retorted.

Ana rolled her eyes and explained, "I'm adopted. I can't just suddenly _leave_. And even if I could, I wouldn't be able to go to Wammy's. The Yagamis would demand to know where I am, and Light would find out about the successors and kill them. Then who would save the world? Also, I can't suddenly work on the Kira case. Light would find out I have some sort of connection to L and R and_use_ me to find out their names. I can't let that happen." She paused, letting all the information sink in. Ana opened her mouth and thought aloud worriedly, "Actually, we're already in danger."

"Eh? How?" Haku asked, scratching his head confusedly.

"According to what you said about my past, Raisa and I are half-sisters, so of course we'd look alike," Ana said matter-of-factly. "We may not have the same hair color or eye color, but we have similar bone structures and stuff." She folded her arms across her chest, brows furrowing from worry. "I'm sure Light's noticed the resemblance. He'll probably be keeping watch on me and sis now."

Haku stared at her, understanding in his eyes. "Humans are so complicated." He smirked, expressing his joy. "But they're so amusing."

"I know this all a game to you, but this is a matter of life and death for me, so could you be a little more serious?"

"Gee, let me think…" Haku said, tapping his chin in thought. He stopped and replied cheerfully, "Nope!"

Ana sighed and gave him a withering look. "Go check on Raisa for me will ya?"

"Fine." Haku spread out his wings and flapped, lifting into the air. "See ya soon!" he yelled, zipping through the sky.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Aren't you guys glad? I've updated like twice this month! I still have to study for exams and stuff, so I won't be posting a new chapter for a while. The next time will probably be in February. Anyway, please review and check out my story Heartless.


	24. A Shinigami's Enemy

Chapter 24: A Shinigami's Enemy

Light stared at her, eyes never leaving her face. _'She looks so familiar.'_ He furrowed his brows in concentration, trying to figure out where he had seen her.

Raisa looked up from her sundae, noting his intense stare. She glared at him, intense dislike flooding through her. _'Light Yagami… Kira… he's the reason why Ana wouldn't come home.'_

"What?" she snapped after a minute.

Light looked confused at her hostility. "Nothing. I just thought I knew you from somewhere."

Raisa opened her mouth to snap, but Ryuzaki beat her to the punch. "Light-kun, Raisa is twelve years old. Please refrain from flirting with her," Ryuzaki spoke seriously, stacking his sugar cubes.

"I wasn't flirting, Ryuzaki," Light spoke, slightly annoyed. "Anyway, what did you want to tell me, Ryuzaki?"

"May I test your investigative abilities, Light-kun?"

"Of course," Light agreed, sipping his coffee.

"What can you conclude about Raisa and me claiming to be R and L?"

"Hmm," Light said thoughtfully, setting down his cup. "Well for starters, you're very hopeful that I will be of help to you. L and R must've thought that going to Kira claiming to be L and R would free the investigator from the risk of being killed. If the investigator dies, L and R will know the suspect is Kira. Using this, one can go even further by considering that news report that says 'Kira needs to know the victim's face…' The truth should be that Kira needs something more. Like a name. Why else would Hideki-kun use the name of a famous idol?"

"That's right," Raisa said grudgingly, spooning some strawberry icecream into her mouth. She hated this guy. She felt extremely tempted to throw her snack at him and ruin his clean white shirt.

"Also, the chance that you two are L and R are very slim."

"How so?" Ryuzaki asked, biting his thumb again.

"If I were L or R, I would never go in person to meet a potential Kira suspect. I'd tell my subordinates to go claiming to be L and R instead," Light said. "The real L and R would work behind the scenes and never on the front lines. He'd use the police as his weapons as he controls them from a safe location."

"That makes sense."

"Though personally, I believe you two are L and R," Light said, picking up his drink again. "When people think of L and R, they think of two male middle-aged detectives. But you two are so young and you're a girl," Light said, referring to Raisa. "You're both so different from the public opinion. That's a bad choice for an impersonator."

"Maybe they predicted you'd think like that so he purposely chose someone young?" L suggested.

"Maybe, but if we keep thinking in reverse like that, it will never end! Your mind will end up in a mess!" Light laughed.

Haku watched the three's exchange silently, not that he could catch their attention even if he wanted to what with him being invisible and what not. '_Well, I've checked up on her. I think it's time to leave.'_

Just as he was about to spread his wings and take off, Ryuk turned around. "Hey, it's you!" Ryuk called out, surprised.

Haku sighed and greeted the shinigami. "Hello, Ryuk."

"I haven't seen you in ages. The last time was what? Five hundred years ago?"

"Four hundred and seventy nine years," Haku corrected.

Ryuk cackled, catching Light's attention. _'What is Ryuk laughing at?'_

"Let's take this conversation somewhere else," Haku suggested, staring at the back of Light's head.

"Alright," Ryuk agreed, floating to another corner of the shop.

"So since you were standing behind that human, I'll take it that he's Kira?"

"I'm not saying anything," Ryuk smirked, pretending to zip his mouth. "You'd take away all the fun if you exposed him. Plus Light would get mad if I told you and not give me any apples."

Haku stared at him in disbelief. "You're staying with that kid for the _apples_? Of all things?"

"Well, not _everyone_ lives in Paradise. We don't get those juicy apples back in the Shinigami Realm," Ryuk spoke indignantly.

Haku sighed. "Don't tell Light about me, okay, Ryuk?"

"Why shouldn't I? You_ are _a shinigami's natural enemy."

"Because if you do, this game will be less interesting. Don't you want to see the look on his face when he finds out?" Haku asked. He spread out his wings again and took off, leaving Ryuk behind.

Light shot up from his chair and rushed out the door, followed by Raisa and Ryuzaki. Ryuk flew behind the three as they hurriedly got in the car and drove to the hospital.

"What were you laughing at, Ryuk?" Light demanded after the visit to the hospital was over.

"Nothing. I was just talking with someone."

"Another shinigami?" Light asked curiously. If he could somehow talk to the shinigami, he might be able to gain an advantage over L and R. He wasn't in a good position what with two detectives hunting him down.

_'I couldn't hear Ryuk talking to anyone. It must be another shinigami.'_

"No," Ryuk answered, chuckling.

"Then who?" Light asked, exasperated.

"Can't tell you. It's a secret."

Light narrowed his eyes, annoyed. "Tell me now!"

"I can't," Ryuk repeated. "It's against the laws of a shinigami. If I tell you, I'll be killed. I can only tell you if the one being spoken of says it's okay. And since he didn't, well…" he shrugged.

"Fine," Light huffed angrily.

_'If it's not a shinigami, then what is it?'_


	25. Panic

Chapter 25: Panic

"Ryuzaki."

"What is it, Watari?"

"Sakura TV... something big has happened," Watari said, turning on the TV.

"We are practically reporting this news as the hostages of Kira himself. This is not a prank. The videos are not a hoax," the host said calmly.

"What is this?" Raisa asked in disbelief. "They're joking right?" Raisa's eyes were glued to the screen, hoping Sakura TV was only posting fake Kira related material for ratings.

_'But they weren't,'_ Raisa realized as the anchormen 'Kira' claimed he would kill began to drop dead.

"This is Kira?" she whispered, a sense of dread filling her. "We have to stop the broadcast!"

"We can't! The line is busy!" Matsuda cried out, clutching the phone.

"Damn it! I'll stop them myself!" Ukita shouted determinedly, running towards the door.

"No, Ukita-san!" Raisa yelled, but it was too late. He was already out of the room. Raisa's stomach tossed and turned, and she suddenly felt extremely sick. She was ninety-five percent certain he wouldn't be coming back.

The Task Force members watched the television screen nervously, hoping Ukita would stop the broadcast. "This just in, there is someone lying in front of Sakura TV station's front door!"

"Ukita!" Aizawa yelled, rushing to the screen. "Damn you, Kira!" he cussed, turning to dash out of the room.

"Stop, Aizawa-san," Ryuzaki commanded, causing him to freeze. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To where Ukita is. I'll retrieve those tapes myself," Aizawa said coldly, fists balling up.

"If you go there now, you'll die too," Ryuzaki said, peering at the man indifferently through his long bangs.

Aizawa glared at the detective. "Are you telling me to sit here and do nothing?" he demanded, anger coursing through his veins. Raisa watched the exchange fearfully, anxious because of the tense atmosphere.

"I'm telling you to calm down," Ryuzaki explained. "I want to stop the broadcast too, but anyone who goes there will suffer the same fate as Ukita-san."

"That means our fake badges didn't work," Aizawa argued. "Did our names leak out?"

"Maybe," Raisa admitted, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. "But if that were true, wouldn't we all be dead by now?"

"I said that 'Kira needs both a name and face to kill,' but after seeing this, I have to say that there is now the possibility of Kira being able to kill using a face alone," Ryuzaki said. "It is undeniable that Ukita-san died as a direct result of going there. He died in front of the TV station, and we all saw it on TV."

"Do you think Kira's there?" Raisa asked worriedly.

"It's possible he merely set up surveillance," Ryuzaki said.

"If we know where Kira is, shouldn't we go to arrest him?" Aizawa demanded.

"I'll say this again, charging in there will get us killed. Please try to understand."

"I can't… Ukita was murdered!" Aizawa exploded, grabbing Ryuzaki's shoulder roughly. "Didn't you say you would risk your life to arrest Kira?!"

"Aizawa-san!" Raisa screamed, jumping out of her seat. "Stop!" She rushed over to the two men and grasped Aizawa's arm, trying to pull him away from Ryuzaki. Aizawa, in his anger, pushed the twelve year old aside and she landed painfully on her butt.

"Risking your life," Ryuzaki breathed, "and throwing it away are two very different things." Aizawa made a move to protest but stopped when he noticed Ryuzaki's slight shaking. Ryuzaki gripped his legs tightly, the tendons in his hands sticking out sharply. "I feel the same as you, but we must remain calm. I can't allow you to die too."

Raisa picked herself off the ground, and teared up slightly. Aizawa noticed and hurriedly apologized after realizing what he did, but Raisa pointedly ignored him, watching the screen instead. Her heart leapt up in surprise, and she gasped as a bus suddenly crashed through the doors of the station.


	26. IMPORTANT INFO

_**Hi, everyone. You guys know how I said about two weeks ago I was going on a hiatus because of schoolwork and loss of interest? Well, I've decided to end my temporary hiatus, but I'm not going to be using this account anymore. I decided a few days ago to open up a new fanfiction account. It's called Codes and Puzzles. The reason I'm doing this is because I don't really like the stories I've posted on this account so I've decided to start anew. I'm going to rewrite all my stories on my new account and repost them there, which means I'll be deleting the ones here. I am definitely deleting **__**Lies and Secrets**__**, but I'm not so sure about **__**A Second Chance**__**. I might delete it some other time or keep it here. I hope you'll all continue to follow me and read my stories. Thanks for sticking with me for so long! See ya in my next account.**_


	27. MORE IMPORTANT INFO

Hello, faithful readers! Some of you are probably wondering when I'll be updating this story. I'm here to tell you that I'm going to discontinue this story and rewrite it. I recently went back to this story and reread some of it, and let me tell you, it was AWFUL. Seriously, I don't know how you guys stuck to it. Hopefully the rewritten version will be even better. I probably won't post it up anytime soon though. I'm still working on the first few chapters of my new Death Note story which will be posted on my new account sometime before the end of summer... I think. Anyways, my rewrite will be posted on this account. Thanks for sticking by me and I hope you'll read the new version when it comes out!


	28. SOME MORE IMPORTANT INFO

Hello, faithful readers! Some of you are probably wondering when the rewrite of this story will be posted. All I can say is is that it won't be posted up for a while probably. I'm still working on the beginning and trying to make sure everything works out. My newest Death Note story, Battle Royale, has been posted already on this account. Well, sort of. The first chapter is actually a character list thing I made. I need _your_ help on coming up with some main characters for Battle Royale. Please take a look at it and come up with a character for me to write about. There's probably going to be around fifteen main characters so create however many you want. Thanks!


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